Osleys Iglesias captured the vacant IBF super-middleweight title with a dominant win over Pavel Silyagin, stopping him after eight rounds in Montreal as the division continues to reshape following Terence Crawford’s brief undisputed reign.
Crawford had unified all four belts at 168lbs with a victory over Saul Alvarez last September, but his retirement three months later left the titles fragmented. Since then, Jose Armando Resendiz and Christian Mbilli have been elevated to WBA and WBC champions respectively.
Iglesias made a statement in claiming the IBF strap, improving to 15-0 (14 KOs) after Silyagin retired on his stool following sustained punishment. Reflecting on the victory, the Cuban southpaw made his ambitions clear: “Mom, I’m finally a double world champion… but I’ve got more left to go to be undisputed.”
Promoter Camille Estephan echoed those ambitions. “We have two titles… there is the WBA and WBO left. We’re gonna get them,” he said, calling out the rest of the division and questioning who would be “courageous enough” to face Iglesias.
Potential future opponents include champions and contenders across the weight class, while an eventual in-house clash with Mbilli remains a possibility once all four belts are unified.
Image Credit: DAZN