On Saturday night, Aaron McKenna announced himself on the world stage by impressively outpointing Liam Smith in front of over 60,000 fans at London’s Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

Less than 24 hours later, McKenna was back at home in Monaghan, Ireland and parked in front of a television.

The 25-year-old middleweight hadn't rushed home to watch a replay of his exploits from the previous evening. His immediate priority was watching his beloved Liverpool Football Club clinch the Premier League title with a comprehensive 5-1 victory over Tottenham.

"You couldn't have asked for a better weekend," McKenna told The Ring.

"I've given it a bit of time. I haven't watched the fight back yet but I will because I like to see what I can improve on and even though it was a convincing win, there's always still something you can learn from and pick up. That's my mindset.

McKenna (20-0, 10 KOs) has long been touted as a potential champion but circumstances have prevented him from displaying his true potential.

A series of opponents have either withdrawn from fights or flat out turned down the chance to face him, citing his lack of profile or simply realising just how difficult a night's work he would present.

Given the way McKenna handled former WBO super welterweight champion Smith, he is going to be hard to ignore from hereon-in.

McKenna may not have had time to sit down and go through his performance frame by frame but when he thinks back over the memorable night, one particular image is burned into his memory.

"I would say probably that 12th round, the body shot," he remembered. "That was definitely the best feeling in the fight. All throughout the 12 rounds, I knew how well I was boxing and was in total control but getting that nice body shot, it just came out of nowhere. I just threw it and it landed perfectly and it dropped him.

"That body shot was the icing on the cake for a spectacular performance. To finish off a fight like that was a nice feeling.

"I know how good I am and what I can do but to finally get the chance to show the world was amazing."

Before the fight, most anticipated a hard-fought, chest to chest battle between the experienced Smith and the young, hungry contender who has spent years grinding away in Californian gyms.

McKenna played along. He carried himself with a quiet, steely demeanour throughout fight week and drew Smith into some intense face-offs. The Liverpudlian comes alive during fight week and didn’t need too much encouragement to meet McKenna's gaze.

Once the opening bell finally sounded, McKenna showed maturity and composure by giving himself time and space to feel his way into the fight rather than instantly meeting Smith in the centre the ring,

McKenna is an aggressive fighter himself and although he spent plenty of time mixing it inside, Smith's pressure gave him the chance to show off the under appreciated aspects of his game.

He cleverly boxed and moved and rather than seeking the safety first route to the final bell, punctuated his breakout performance with that memorable body shot.

"That was the plan all along," he said.

"I've been trying to tell people for years that I can box all styles, only the close ones to me and people who've been following my journey from the very start really believe me. I've been saying for I don't know how long that I can mix it up, I can box, I can turn southpaw, I can do it all.

"In the fight I showed it. I showed I could box on the inside. I could outbox him and actually boxed southpaw as well for a lot of it and felt comfortable doing so.

"People don't seem to understand that when we're saying these things, we fully mean it and can back it up because we have put in the hard work. We have done the training, we've made the sacrifices, we've been very dedicated.

"To finally do it on a night like that where all the pressure's been piled on you. None of the boxing experts give me a chance leading up to the fight, the whole fight week they all predicted me to lose, saying Smith was too experienced. To prove all them people wrong was some feeling."

These days, modern boxing is about much, much more than the hour the fighter spends in the ring.

Every boxer wants to fight on the biggest stage possible but not everyone feels comfortable spending a full week in the media spotlight.

Fighters can whip themselves into the best condition possible and find sparring partners who are able to mimic their opponents but it is impossible to know how they will handle the pressure and attention of a major fight week and the atmosphere of fighting in front of thousands in an open air stadium.

McKenna took everything in his stride.

"It felt brilliant to be honest with you," he said. "You’ve got all the interviews and fight week was very, very busy. It was a fight week that was completely different to the ones I've seen but it didn't phase me one bit. You’re doing something every day, the grand arrivals, then the media day, doing about 30 different interviews but it doesn't phase me. Then finally the fight night, walking out into the stadium in front of all them people.

"I took it all in and felt at home without getting distracted or anything. It was an amazing opportunity but to soak it all in is important too, it's an experience no one can buy. No one in the world would be able to feel it unless they do it.

"It doesn’t phase me in a way where I get shell-shocked like some people might. Everyone's different. If anything, I probably perform better under the pressure. Some people don't take to it and that's the thing, that's what everyone expected.

"Can this 25 year-old who hasn't got the same experience as someone who's been there before do it on the big stage when it matters in front of all these people? And I definitely showed I could.”

Before the fight, McKenna talked The Ring through the decision-making that led him to choose the fight with Smith over a trip to Kazakhstan to fight unified WBO & IBF middleweight champion, Janibek Alimkhanuly (17-0, 12 KOs).

Confident that he will be a factor at world title level for some time to come, McKenna decided that legitimising himself against a recognised world level fighter like Smith would serve him better in the long run than travelling to Astana to be a bit part in Alimkhanuly's homecoming.

Things couldn’t have worked out any better. Rather than entering any future world title negotiations as an unproven, relatively unknown opponent and having to kowtow to almost every demand, McKenna’s name now carries much, much more weight.

"Everything I said to you before the fight came true. A fight like this was a far better fight to go for because of all the people watching and the stage it was on," he said.

"It’s not every day you get the chance to fight in a sold-out stadium and now look at what it's done for my career. Everyone in the world now knows who I am and it only makes a fight with Janibek or any of the world champions bigger.

"All along the fight week I was saying I wanted to steal the show. I was telling people that not only do I want to win, but I want to win in good style. I think it was important as well to really get the stamp of authority and respect from people.

"You've got to keep going while it's going good and when I have the momentum. Whatever's next, I'll be ready. You know me, I always like to stay in good shape and I'd like to get a crack at the world title. If that's not possible, then Chris Eubank Jr."

Saturday night’s event was full of subplots regarding family ties and famous fathers. Chris Eubank Snr made a dramatic entrance to stand shoulder to shoulder with his son whilst Nigel Benn was a constant companion to his son, Conor, throughout the build up to the evening's spectacular main event.

McKenna's father and trainer, Fergal, is a more lowkey figure but was every bit as proud of the way his son showed the world what they've long known he was capable of.

"Oh, he was thrilled," McKenna said. “Me, [my brother] Stephen, my dad and my other brother, Gary, we all expected this result. This is the way we envisioned it and once I was in the ring, it did just feel like it all went according to plan.”