Osleys Iglesias has gone from finally having a dance partner to at last knowing when their dance will be.
Iglesias’ bout with Pavel Silyagin for the vacant IBF super middleweight title will take place on April 9 in Montreal, according to a social media post from RCC Boxing, which promotes Silyagin.
Iglesias, a 28-year-old from Cuba, 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 Quebec. His past five bouts have come in the Canadian province, four of them in Montreal and one in Quebec City.
During that run, Iglesias has 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. Iglesias is now 14-0 (13 KOs).
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.
One would think any number of contenders would jump at the opportunity to fight for a world title. But as chronicled by BoxingScene’s Jake Donovan, the IBF went down its rankings as fighters declined with various explanations: Canelo was unavailable for medical reasons. Jaime Munguia is potentially fighting for another title. The same can be said for Hamzah Sheeraz. Troy Williamson is contractually obligated for a rematch with Callum Simpson.
Silyagin, 16-0-1 (7 KOs), currently rated seventh by the IBF, agreed to fight. The 32-year-old from Russia has won three in a row since his 2023 draw with eventual Iglesias victim Shvedenko. Silyagin fought just once in 2025, nearly shutting out the 23-0 Pablo Exequiel Corzo in July.
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.
