Osleys Iglesias lived up to the formidable reputation built around his name by stopping Pavel Silyagin from winning the vacant IBF super middleweight title in Montreal.
The Cuban hitter forced Silyagin to retire a fighter in the corner after eight rounds at Casino Montreal on Thursday night, extending his undefeated record and adding a world champion status to the run that has quickly made him one of the most avoided fighters at 168 pounds.
Eye of the Tiger organizers wasted no time in highlighting its growing reputation.
Moments after the victory, the Montreal team announced on social media that they were in the super middleweight division.
The message reflected the mood surrounding Iglesias’ latest performance. Against an undefeated opponent who entered the fight with a 16-0-1 record, the Cuban gradually took control before Silyagin’s team decided to stop the fight tardy in the eighth round – a result that pushes Iglesias right into the conversation with the most perilous 168-pound fighters.
Osleys Iglesias is the IBF champion
The victory clinched the IBF world title and also put Iglesias firmly on the world stage and at the center of a division that currently features several novel champions.
Christian Mbilla currently holds the WBC crown, Iglesias now controls the IBF title and Jose Armando Resendiz is the WBA champion.
The WBO champion title remains vacant for now, although the situation will change on May 23, when Hamzah Sheeraz and Alem Begic will fight for the belt at the Oleksandr Usyk vs. Rico Verhoeven gala.
With the belts now split between several fighters and a novel champion emerging in Montreal, the super middleweight division suddenly has another perilous name that may be difficult for fighters to ignore.
However, with all three champions crowned, Iglesias may be the best of them all.
Eye of the Tiger
Undercard results – Montreal
Osley Iglesias W-RTD 8 Pavel Silyagin – IBF super middleweight title / IBO super middleweight title
Artur Biyarslanov W-TKO 7 Jimerr Espinosa – NABF super lightweight title
Luis Santana W-SD 10 Chann Thonson – NABF lightweight title Santana was knocked down in the fourth round before taking a split decision.
Leila Beaudoin W-UD 10 Victoria Noelia Bustos
Alexander Gaumont W-UD 10 Łukasz Lozo Gaumont was knocked down in the tenth round.
Eric of Israel W-RTD 4 Franco Filgueira
About the Author
Phil Jay is the editor-in-chief of World Boxing News (WBN) and a boxing veteran with over 15 years of experience. Read the full biography.
With Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao set to rematch in September, Mayweather’s former rival Marcos Maidana shared his thoughts on the fight.
In 2014, Maidana was defeated twice by the great American, and the first of the two fights was considered one of the few situations in which a decision could result in a “TBE” failure. officially defeating “El Chino” by majority decision.
Their second meeting was more convincing and proved to be Maidan’s last appearance as a professional, while Mayweather went on to fight the biggest fight of his career and defeat arch-rival Pacquiao the following year.
Though others consider the fight controversial due to the age of both legends, Maidana said Fighting Hub TV that there are no problems with the competition.
“[I think it is] Good. They can still be in boxing and if they can fight, there’s nothing wrong with them fighting.
As for the fight itself, Maidana predicted a similar outcome to their 2015 meeting, with Mayweather’s style remaining unmatched as he improves his legendary record to 51-0.
“I think it will be the same, maybe a little slower because they are a little bigger, but I think the way they both fight will be the same.”
In addition to the fight with Pacquiao, Mayweather is also scheduled to fight an exhibition fight with Greek kickboxer Mike Zambidis in June.
O’Shaquie Foster took his feud with Richardson Hitchins to another level this week, accusing the former IBF junior welterweight champion of being afraid of sparring and questioning his durability during a lengthy interview ahead of Foster’s May 30 title defense against Raymond Ford.
Foster slammed Hitchins, claiming that people in boxing have been questioning Hitchins’ mentality for years.
“Hitchins is scary as hell. I knew it. That’s what they say in boxing,” Foster said on Sean Zittel’s YouTube page. “They must have pumped him up with some sparring sessions. He knew what I was talking about. They had to put a wrench in his back so he could go to sparring and so on.”
Foster then mentioned that Hitchins was withdrawing from his scheduled fight against Oscar Duarte on the day of the competition in February.
“He has heart problems. It’s not a physical heart problem. He just doesn’t have a heart. See what he did to Duarte? Why am I worried about Hitchins? He’s so terrible,” Foster said.
Hitchins later responded to Foster’s X with a miniature response of his own.
“I’ve got a lot more heart than that alien pussy in my ass, nigga.”
The latest exchange comes just hours after Foster mocked Hitchins over his Olympic path and his past ties to Subriel Matias.
Foster blamed Hitchins for not making the U.S. Olympic team before he later represented Haiti at the 2016 Olympics. Hitchins previously lost out on U.S. selection to Gary Antuanne Russell before qualifying for international play in Haiti via Olympic qualifying.
This exchange added unexpected warmth to an otherwise serene week in boxing, especially since both fighters weren’t even fighting in the same division. Foster is the 130-pound world champion, and Hitchins recently won the 140-pound belt.
Still, both fighters come from the Recent York boxing scene, know each other’s amateur history, and now seem fully committed to turning their social media spats into something much more personal.
Dan Ambrose is a boxing journalist at Boxing News 24, respected for his direct analysis and extensive coverage of the global fighting landscape. His reports focus on the most crucial fights, division development and the most discussed stories in sports.
Naoya Inoue recently cemented his status as one of, if not the best pound-for-pound fighters in the world with a win over compatriot Junto Nakatani. The question is, can anyone defeat him before he hangs up his gloves?
With retirement not too far away, the undisputed two-division champion is looking to tackle one more weight class before it’s time for a Hall of Fame campaign. Ready and willing to fight at 126 pounds is Bruce Carrington from Brooklyn.
I’m talking to ES Newsthe WBC featherweight champion said that watching Nakatani fight only confirmed his belief that he was capable of defeating “The Monster”.
“Honestly, I’ve seen a lot of things that I can’t say here. I’m ready. Inoue is still a spectacular fighter, but I know I have what it takes to beat him. Nakatani is no slouch. I expected a good fight… he did everything he had to do to win.”
“Shu Shu,” who won the vacant title against Carlos Castro in January and will return to the ring to defend it against Rene Palacios in July, then said he would take the fight to Inoue as soon as it was offered to him.
“100%. I’m ready now, I’m ready today, I’m ready tomorrow, I’m ready whenever. Come to the Shu Shu show, baby. I can’t wait to share the ring with you. It’s going to be fireworks.”
Inoue made his plans clear – to fight once again at super bantamweight, most likely against Jesse Rodriguez, and then move up to featherweight, which he said would be the final challenge of his career. Although he did not mention Carrington’s name, the 33-year-old says he wants to take the belt straight away.
As a long-reigning champion and heavyweight star who is gaining more and more importance, sanctioning authorities would likely have no problem approving such a possibility.
However, many fans will believe that “Bam” Rodriguez can thwart these plans. The 26-year-old is expected to move up to bantamweight to fight for Antonio Vargas’ WBA title, with the fight against Inoue taking place in early 2027.
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