Monaghan youngster Stevie McKenna makes short work of first pro opponent

Stevie McKenna wasted no time in getting his professional career off to the perfect start.

The Monaghan lightweight, who is the older brother of fellow fighter Aaron McKenna, scored a first-round knockout in his first trip through the ropes as a pro. McKenna, 22, was matched up with Trey Branch for the clash at the Sports Arena in Pico Rivera, Los Angeles, and it was one way traffic from the opening bell. Having sparred the likes of pound-for-pound great Vasyl Lomachenko in recent months, McKenna looked well prepared for his professional bow and showed no jitters as he piled some early punishment on Branch, who had some choice words for the Irishman in the build-up. https://www.instagram.com/p/Bv8bKSvH7Dt/ Displaying a wide variety of punches, McKenna's output was just too much for Branch and the referee rightly saw that the American fighter was out of his depth and waved the fight off to prevent any unnecessary damage. McKenna, nicknamed 'The Hitman', is currently managed by Sheer Sports and reports suggest that he is set to follow in the footsteps of Jason Quigley and his older brother by signing a deal with Golden Boy Promotions. Saturday night's victory closes out a memorable week for the McKenna boys as Aaron went six rounds for the first time in his career just last weekend, when he extended his perfect record to 7-0 by dominating Loretto Olivas in California.