Unbeaten IBF top 168 lb. fighter, Cuban Osleys Iglesias, has been looking for an opponent for a vacant title fight later this year. Now, it appears that a little known Russian will battle him for the belt in April.
It's not exactly a scintillating matchup for the IBF super middleweight crown, but top contender Osleys Iglesias now has an opponent for the vacant title fight later this year.
The Cuban Iglesias and Russian Pavel Silyagin have finalized a deal to square off for the vacant IBF 168 lb. crown, with their bout to take place on April 9 at the Cabaret du Casino de Montreal. The championship fight will headline an Eye of the Tiger Management card,
This is all according to promoter Camille Estephan, who confirmed the details to insider Dan Rafael Wednesday.
The southpaw Iglesias has become a regular attraction in Montreal, enters the fight with growing momentum and has shown himself to be a legit puncher. The 28-year-old carries is 14-0 with 13 knockouts, but against mostly non-descript competition..
In his most recent fight on September 4th, Iglesias delivered a dominant performance against another Russian, Vladimir Shishkin, scoring a one-sided eighth-round KO in the IBF title eliminator to secure his mandatory challenger position.
The IBF title became vacant in December, when undisputed super middleweight champion Terence Crawford announced his retirement. Crawford had captured all four major belts with a landmark victory over Canelo Alvarez in September before deciding to step away from the sport.
Estephan has high praise for his fighter’s potential, saying to Rafael, “Iglesias is a generational talent. We believe he’s special.”
Although, he never advanced out of the Cuban amateur system to their Olympic team, he did have some success in the national program as a middleweight.
Iglesias turned pro in 2019 fighting mostly in Germany and Poland early in his career. He raised eyebrows with a first round demolition of former ranked super middleweight Marcelo Coceres in his Montreal debut in March 2024.
Meanwhile, Silyagin, a 32-year-old Russian contender with a 16-0-1 record and seven knockouts, will be fighting outside his home country for the first time. Though he competed only once in 2025, he secured this opportunity by being ranked and willing to come to Montreal and take the fight.
Both the former undisputed champion Alvarez and multiple time world title challenger Jaime Munguia were ranked ahead of Silyagin by the IBF at super middleweight. However, they declined involvement in the vacant title fight.
Eye of the Tiger confirmed the details on social media Thursday afternoon,
Backed by RCC Boxing, Silyagin now steps into the biggest bout of his career against one of the division’s fastest-rising stars.
And, it should be noted that Eye of The Tiger also represents African born Christian Mbilli, who fights out of Montreal, and is now the newly elevated WBC super middleweight champ. So, it's not hard to figure out that a Mbilli-Iglesias unification bout could be a fight or two down the road, if the Cuban wins against Silyyagin.