Tyrone McKenna vs Chris Jenkins Preview August 6th, 2022
Southpaw Tyrone McKenna of Belfast, Northern Ireland takes on Chris Jenkins of Swansea, Wales in a 10-round welterweight clash this Saturday, August 6th. The bout from Belfast can be seen live in America on ESPN+ while those in the UK can catch it on the FITE Network. McKenna last fought in March when he was stopped in six rounds by former world champion Regis Prograis. Jenkins last boxed in April when he was halted in four rounds by Florian Marku in a shot at the IBF International Welterweight Title.
McKenna vs Jenkins Betting Odds
Here are the betting odds from online sportsbook BetOnline.ag (full review here).
- Chris Jenkins +400
- Tyrone McKenna -600
My Pick
The 32-year-old southpaw McKenna climbs into the ring with a mark of 22-3-1 with 6 Kos. He’s quite tall for the division at 6-feet-1-inch but unfortunately his reach is unlisted. He made his pro debut back in 2012 after a considerable amateur career in which he lost to Carl Frampton, and has now fought 162 rounds as a pro.
McKenna doesn’t carry much power in his fists at all as his current knockout ratio stands at just 23.1 per cent. His first pro loss didn’t come until 2018 when he dropped a 10-round unanimous decision to Jack Catterall in a shot at the WBO Inter-Continental Super Lightweight Title. He was dropped in the second and fifth rounds in that fight while Catterall was deducted a point for hitting him while he was down.
His second defeat came is September, 2020 at the hands of Ohara Davies when he was edged via a 10-round majority decision and lost his WBC International Super Lightweight belt which he won against Darragh Foley by 10-round unanimous decision in June, 2019 and successfully defended twice. He was then in over his head against Regis Prograis in march as he was dropped in the second round and stopped in the sixth.
McKenna’s lone draw was a six-round affair with Arvydas Trizno in 2016. Other than Davies, Felix and Catterall, McKenna has fought mainly domestic level opponents and that’s exactly what he’ll be doing when he meets Jenkins this weekend so should be back in his comfort zone after fighting a world-class boxer like Prograis.
Jenkins is a 33-year-old who enters the ring with a mark of 23-5-3 with 8 Ko’s and has been stopped twice. He’s boxed 168 rounds since making his pro debut in 2012 following an amateur career which saw him beaten by Carl Frampton and Luke Campbell. Jenkins stands 5-feet-9-inches tall with an unlisted reach, which means he gives up four inches in height to McKenna.
As far as power goes. Jenkins is quite similar to McKenna as he doesn’t possess much pop in his punches with a current knockout ratio of 25.8 per cent. His five defeats have been at the hands of Tyrone Nurse in 2015, Phil Sutcliffe Jr in 2016, Akeem Ennis Brown in 2018, Ekow Essuman in 2021 and Florian Marku this April.
Jenkins was stopped by Essuman in the eight round and by Marku in the fourth. His defeat to Brown for the vacant WBC Youth World Super Lightweight Title was a five-round technical decision after Jenkins’ eye was cut by an accidental head butt. His three draws came against Tyrone Nurse in 2015, Darragh Foley in 2018 and Liam Taylor in 2019.
The draws against Foley and Taylor were also technical decisions as Jenkins was cut in both bouts due to accidental head clashes. Jenkins fought in the popular British Prizefighter tournament in 2013 which he won as a light welterweight. Since turning pro he’s won the vacant WBC International Super Lightweight Title, the British Welterweight Title, the vacant Commonwealth Welterweight Belt. Jenkins’ biggest wins have been over Julius Indongo, Paddy Gallagher and Johnny Garton.
Prediction…
Neither boxer has much in the way of power but that doesn’t mean this fight will go the distance as Jenkins has a tendency to cut and several of his fights have been technical decisions because of this. McKenna has the size advantage as well as the better boxing skills while Jenkins is a grittier fighter. I’m going with McKenna here due to his size and superior skills.
McKenna has the edge in size and boxing skills.
Play: McKenna -600 @ BetOnline.ag
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Chris Jenkins betting • Tyrone McKenna betting