Osleys Iglesias claimed the previously-vacant IBF super middleweight title tonight in Quebec, dominating Pavel Silyagin en route to a stoppage win after eight rounds.
The fight was called off with Silyagin (16-1-1, 7 KO) suffering from a pretty beaten up left eye and bleeding heavily from the nose, with the Russian failing to find any way to really combat the power of Iglesias (15-0, 14 KO), who had also shown an ability to adjust to the craftiness of Silyagin.
Who’s next for Iglesias?
The hard-punching Cuban has found it
a little difficult to land bigger opponents to date, but the IBF title can give him leverage he did not have before. Now he brings something to the table beyond just being a tough matchup.
Prior to tonight’s fight, Iglesias was ranked No. 1 contender by the IBF, with the No. 2 slot vacant. Canelo Alvarez was at No. 3, followed by Jaime Munguia, Hamzah Sheeraz, Troy Williamson, Silyagin, Diego Pacheco, Malik Zinad, and Jacob Bank rounding out the top 10. Simon Zachenhuber, Kevin Sadjo, Oliver Zaren, Callum Simpson, and Bektemir Melikuziev held slots 11-15.
Canelo is slated to fight in September on a Riyadh Season card, and it’s been expected that he’ll face WBC titleholder Christian Mbilli, though that’s not official. Iglesias could be in the mix for that fight, which is obviously the biggest spotlight and payday at 168.
Munguia and Sheeraz are both tied up with other titles, as Munguia will face Armando Resendiz for the WBA belt on May 2, and Sheeraz takes on Alem Begic on May 23 to fill the final title vacancy, with the WBO belt at stake.
The most likely outcome for Iglesias’ first title challenger is someone who won’t exactly excite the masses, maybe Zinad, Bank, or Zachenhuber, and Diego Pacheco would probably be the best realistic option, though Pacheco has paid more attention to his WBC and WBO rankings with minor trinkets than he has the IBF.
But Canelo could happen. Canelo has thrown some curveballs with fight announcements in the past, both unexpectedly good and just unexpected, and Iglesias really has about as much name value as Mbilli, and isn’t coming off of a draw, which Mbilli is.
