There might not be a more impressive example of a fighter moving up in class than Aaron McKenna’s wide decision win over former world champion Liam Smith.

The Irishman, from Monaghan, was superb, scoring a resounding victory at Tottenham Hotspur’s Stadium in north London – winning a wide decision and scoring a 12th-round bodyshot knockdown in the process.

It was a coming of age performance for the 25-year-old “The Silencer”, who improved to 20-0 (10 KOs), and whether it indicated only his promise or represented the inevitable decline of the Liverpool battler, who turns 37 in July, remains to be seen – but you can’t take credit away from McKenna with such a breakout victory.

Smith, 33-5-1 (20 KOs), saluted McKenna at the bell, and applauded when the scorecards of 119-108, 117-109, and 118-108 were read out.

Their fight finished in a one-sided manner but the fighters took a steady look at one other in the early going. Smith, on the front foot and behind his customary tight guard, tried to stay in the pocket to investigate future opportunities while the taller and rangier McKenna aimed jabs and right hands from the outside.

There was blood on the Irishman’s nose in the second round, during which McKenna turned southpaw momentarily.

Brothers from both families could be heard shouting their support and instructions from ringside, with Stephen McKenna competing with Paul, Stephen, and Callum Smith.

It was cagey. McKenna had never boxed at this level or on this stage – and the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium had started to hum in anticipation of the main event.

McKenna was proving to be a hard target, pivoting left and right, maintaining his range, and making it look like Smith was taking too long to get his shots off.

“He’s trying to time your movement – he’s trying to time you with the right hand,” warned Fergal McKenna, working his son’s corner.

McKenna’s constant switching and unpredictable ability to change direction – something he’s extensively practised in the gyms of Los Angeles and Las Vegas – was a cause of frustration for Smith, and McKenna only looked smoother in the fifth.

Smith was also cut above his right eye when their heads came together but, tough as they come, he didn’t complain.

Smith was often bamboozled by the lanky victor, and by the sixth the rhythm and trajectory of the fight seemed as though it had been decided.

He just couldn’t get untracked, and while the Liverpudlian landed blows here and there, he could not apply the type of pressure he is usually able to sustain.

McKenna was a box of tricks in the ninth, moving to his left and throwing his right, moving to his right and throwing his left, and lancing Smith with a pair of right hands before the bell.

“Can you give me two really world-class rounds?” asked McKenna’s dad before the 11th.

In the other corner, trainer Joe McNally urged Smith to “fire up”.

But there was no quelling McKenna’s dominance and the Irishman, it should be added, was equally adept when Smith was in range.

They touched gloves before the 12th, and McNally urged Smith to go for it, while Fergal told his son to prepare to capitalise on any mistakes that were made.

Thirty seconds later Smith, who has been in with the likes of Saul "Canelo" Alvarez and Jaime Munguia, was dropped by a bodyshot after a left hook was buried into his side.

Smith clambered off the floor, gritted his teeth, and fired back, but the Irishman was well on top, never slowed, and fired away with both hands to the bell.

McKenna and Smith had told BoxingScene beforehand that they hoped victory could take them into fights with the main eventers, Conor Benn and Chris Eubank Jnr, but the queue to face McKenna next will not be long.