Osleys Iglesias and Pavel Silyagin will meet this week for the vacant IBF super middleweight world title. Here’s what you need to know about this show:
When is Osleys Iglesias vs. Pavel Silyagin?
Osleys Iglesias vs Pavel Silyagin is on Thursday, April 9. The broadcast will begin at 6:30 p.m. ET (11:30 p.m. BST).
What channel is Osleys Iglesias vs Pavel Silyagin on?
Osleys Iglesias vs Pavel Silyagin will stream on Punching Grace in Quebec and DAZN outside of Quebec. The undercard will also air on TVA Sports.
Where is Osleys Iglesias vs Pavel Silyagin?
The fight is taking place at the Casino de Montreal in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
Who is Osleys Iglesias?
Osleys Iglesias, 14-0 (13 KOs), is a 28-year-old from Cuba who turned pro in Germany and has since made Montreal his fighting home, akin to many other talented foreign-born fighters who have been embraced by boxing fans in the region. His past five bouts have come in the Canadian province, four of them in Montreal and one in Quebec City.
During that run, Iglesias knocked out the 32-6-1 Marcelo Coceres in one round; did the same thing to the 16-1-1 Evgeny Shvedenko; dispatched the 28-3 Sena Agbeko in the second round; put away the 18-0-2 Petro Ivanov in the fifth round; and stopped the 16-1 Vladimir Shishkin in the eighth.
The Shishkin win was in early September in an elimination match for the IBF title at 168lbs. Nine days later, Terence Crawford defeated Saul “Canelo” Alvarez to become the undisputed super middleweight champion. Crawford ultimately retired and vacated all four of the major sanctioning body belts.
Who is Pavel Silyagin?
Silyagin, 16-0-1 (7 KOs), is rated seventh by the IBF and agreed to fight after several others declined.
One would think any number of contenders would jump at the opportunity to fight for a world title. But the IBF went down its rankings as fighters, with various explanations, declined to face Iglesias: Canelo was unavailable for medical reasons. Jaime Munguia is fighting for another title. So is Hamzah Sheeraz. Troy Williamson is contractually obligated for a rematch with Callum Simpson.
So that led to Silyagin, a 32-year-old from Russia who has won three in a row since his 2023 draw with eventual Iglesias victim Shvedenko. In 2024, Silyagin took out the 13-0 Rizvan Elikhanov in the first round and widely outpointed the 14-3 Ulugbek Sobirov. Silyagin fought just once in 2025, nearly shutting out the 23-0 Pablo Exequiel Corzo in July.
What other fights are on the undercard of Osleys Iglesias vs Pavel Silyagin?
The co-feature pits junior welterweight prospect Arthur Biyarslanov, 20-0 (16 KOs), against Jimerr Espinosa, 17-2-1 (16 KOs).
Biyarslanov is a 30-year-old who represented Canada in the 2016 Olympics, losing in his second match of the junior welterweight tournament. He is coming off a unanimous decision over former titleholder Sergey Lipinets last October. Espinosa, a 28-year-old from Mexico, has gone 2-0-1 since a split decision loss to prospect Delante “Tiger” Johnson in late 2023. Most recently, Espinosa stopped the 18-5 Adrian Villanueva in five rounds last May.
Other undercard bouts include lightweight prospect Luis Santana, 15-0 (7 KOs), against Chann Thonson, 18-1 (15 KOs); and Leila Beaudoin, 13-2 (2 KOs), returning from her decision loss to Alycia Baumgardner in December, will face former lightweight titleholder Victoria Bustos, 26-9-1 (0 KOs), who was nearly shut out in December by the 10-0 Rima Ayadi.
The full list of undercard fights can be seen on BoxRec.
David Greisman, who has covered boxing since 2004, is on Twitter @FightingWords2. David’s book, “Fighting Words: The Heart and Heartbreak of Boxing,” is available on Amazon.
