Blow for Aaron McKenna as Japanese tournament is postponed

Monaghan boxer Aaron McKenna has been hit with a setback after the €900,000 tournament he was set to enter in Japan was postponed a week away from the planned start date.

McKenna was due to face American-Puerto Rican Jeovanny Estela in a quarter-final in the event co-hosted by Matchroom Boxing.

The opening night was to see four bouts take place over 10 rounds, with a bumper €90,000 knockout bonus on offer, split between the fighters who successfully stopped their opponent.

McKenna (18-0, 9 KOs) was setting out to establish his future world title challenger credentials against Estela.

The Monaghan man earned a sixth-round stoppage victory against Mickey Ellison in the first defence of his WBC International Middleweight title in January.

The upcoming bout was set to represent a breakthrough in his career for a world-level event.

In a statement issued on Sunday evening, Matchroom confirmed speculation emanating in the last seven days that the tournament will not begin next week.

It read: "Matchroom can today confirm due to operational reasons outside of our control the Prize Fighter quarter-finals are postponed. Further details will follow in due course."

No specific reason was given or guarantee the tournament will be rescheduled.