Boxing
Bentley and McKenna eye middleweight unification encounter
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Denzel Bentley and Aaron McKenna are reportedly set to meet in a middleweight unification encounter before the end of 2026.
The pair, WBO and IBF champions respectively, reached the summit of the division this year with a pair of hard-fought victories.
Bentley was elevated from the interim strap he won against Endry Saavedra in July after Janibek Alimkhanuly vacated the belt.
McKenna meanwhile followed in August after he scored a comfortable victory over Etinosa Oliha to earn his own stripes in style.
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Now, The Ring reports the duo will mount their first defences against each other, pending approval from the sanctioning bodies.
There is a wrinkle, however, with the WBO expected to order Cuban fighter Yoenli Hernandez as Bentley's mandatory challenger.
If that proceeds, then the Briton may need to negotiate new terms in order to secure his bout and further title bid against McKenna.
An immediate move by both men to unify will be seen as a statement of intent, given their brief reign with champion status so far.
Could Bentley-McKenna be late-year blockbuster?
DAZN News correspondent Andrew Steel
Talk about making waves. News that Denzel Bentley and Aaron McKenna could cross paths is a fascinating idea to be savoured.
The former was arguably best-in-show when he defeated Endry Saavedra on the Derek Chisora-Deontay Wilder bill back in April.
The latter meanwhile has long been tipped as one of Ireland's most promising talents, and now has the stripes to match that too.
There will be no shortage of fascinating match-ups across the tail-end of a busy calendar year - but this could be a true dark horse.
That will only be if the two men get their clash signed off, of course - but you'd have to imagine there's confidence to make it happen.
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