Osleys Iglesias to make first IBF title defence against Oliver Zaren on October 8

Osleys Iglesias will make the first defence of his IBF super-middleweight title against Oliver Zaren on October 8 at the Capitole de Québec in Quebec City, Canada. The all-southpaw fight headlines an Eye of the Tiger card featuring nine title bouts.

Iglesias, 15-0 (14 KOs), won the vacant IBF belt by stopping Pavel Silyagin in the eighth round on April 9 in Montreal and now returns in Canada against Zaren, 19-0-1 (8 KOs), the IBF’s No. 5-rated contender. The Cuban, based in Germany and rated No. 2 by The Ring at 168lbs, has won nine straight fights inside the distance and has quickly become one of the division’s more avoided champions.

Zaren, a Danish southpaw trained by Mikkel Kessler, enters his first world title fight after a third-round technical draw with Jose Luis Navarro Jr in Madrid on June 19, when the bout was curtailed because of a thunderstorm. He has framed the challenge as a defining opportunity, saying: “This fight is a dream come true for me, a dream I have cherished since childhood, and one that will ultimately come true with my victory. Osleys Iglesias is strong, tall, powerful, and I know he scares even the world’s elite… but not me, because I know my level. On October 8, I will not come to Québec as a visitor. I will come as a conqueror.”

Adames talks go quiet

The confirmation of Zaren as challenger comes after talks for Iglesias to face Carlos Adames failed to produce a deal. Adames, the WBC middleweight champion and The Ring’s No. 1 at 160lbs, had been in advanced discussions to move up for a September fight with Iglesias after the pair exchanged words on social media in April.

Adames, 25-1-1 (18 KOs), defended his middleweight title by dropping Austin “Ammo” Williams on the way to a wide unanimous decision on March 21 in Orlando, then said he was open to fights from 154 to 168lbs, including Iglesias. With those discussions going quiet and Iglesias moving towards another option, Adames is expected to explore opportunities closer to his natural division now that the Cuban champion has moved on.

The Quebec bill also keeps Wilkens Mathieu active in the super-middleweight picture. Mathieu, 16-0 (11 KOs), will defend his regional 168lbs title against Vladimir Shishkin, 17-2 (11 KOs), five months after stopping Olympic silver medallist Esquiva Falcao in the eighth round at the same venue.

Shishkin has already shared the ring with two fighters who went on to world title opportunities, a point Mathieu made clear ahead of the bout. “After beating Vladimir Shishkin, William Scull and Osleys Iglesias both went on to fight for world titles,” said Mathieu. “So I sincerely hope the same thing happens for me, because I already feel ready to beat anyone in the world at 168 pounds.”

Leïla Beaudoin, 15-2 (2 KOs), is also scheduled to defend her WBA interim junior-lightweight title, with her opponent still to be announced. At light-heavyweight, Imam Khataev, 12-1 (11 KOs), returns after surviving an early scare against Mickael Diallo in June and will defend a regional title against Padraig McCrory, 20-2 (10 KOs), who has been tempted out of retirement after only a few weeks.

The undercard includes an unbeaten lightweight pairing between two-time Olympian Dzmitry Asanau, 13-0 (7 KOs), and Montreal’s Luis Santana, 16-0 (7 KOs), with three regional belts attached to the bout. Featherweight Thomas Chabot, 13-1 (8 KOs), faces Jose Antonio Romero, 18-3-1 (6 KOs), Erik Israelyan, 6-0 (4 KOs), meets Jesse Sallows, 6-1 (5 KOs), Deylen Pepin, 2-1, is also listed for action, and Jacob Blais, 0-1, faces Yoan Trottier, 0-2, with both seeking a first professional win.

Eye of the Tiger promoter Camille Estephan said the depth of the card was significant for the local market, saying: “Historic is a term that is often overused in sports, but this time, the numbers speak for themselves: nine titles on the line at a single card in Quebec is simply unprecedented. It is all the more exciting for us to present an event of this magnitude at the Capitole, one of the most beautiful venues in North America, where every seat gives our fans the opportunity to be at the heart of the action.”

Iglesias now moves from the stalled Adames negotiations into a first defence against an unbeaten IBF contender, while Zaren has just over two months to prepare for his title shot in Quebec.