Osleys Iglesias is a real threat in the super middleweight division.
The Cuban dominated and stopped former title challenger Vladimir Shishkin in Round 8 of their IBF super middleweight title final eliminator at the Montreal Casino, in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, on Thursday night.
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By doing so, Iglesias booked his shot at the winner of the Netflix-streamed Saul “Canelo” Alvarez vs. Terence Crawford undisputed super middleweight championship fight at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas on Sept. 13.
Even so, it is highly unlikely that the Alvarez vs. Crawford victor will defend those four titles against the dangerous but little-known Iglesias. The IBF is notorious for following through with mandatory challengers, and so it is almost inevitable that the Sept. 13 winner will be ordered to face Iglesias and ultimately vacate — much like Alvarez did in 2024 with his IBF title rather than face William Scull, who he beat in a historically dreadful unification fight in May.
Iglesias (14-0, 13 KOs), a decorated amateur who defeated two-time regular champion David Morrell in the unpaid ranks before switching over in 2019, found a home for his right hook early in the opener. It wasn’t long before the southpaw added his left hand behind it as well.
Shishkin showed good punch resistance and aggression in the early rounds, but his lack of head movement meant that the writing was on the wall.
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Iglesias stunned Shishkin on the bell at the conclusion of Round 3. The Cuban built a strong lead in the mid rounds. Shishkin began to wilt as Iglesias continued to land with power shots on the immobile Shishkin’s chin.
A pair of left hands rocked Shishkin to his boots and caused him to lose his stance in the opening 30 seconds of the deciding frame. This prompted Iglesias to launch a sustained attack on Shishkin that lasted almost a minute.
Shishkin spent much of the minute with his back to the ropes, unsuccessfully attempting to hold and push the Cuban off of him. The lack of response from Shishkin, coupled with the number of clean shots landing for Iglesias, particularly with the left hand, forced referee Michael Griffin to step in and stop the contest.
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For Shishkin (16-2, 10 KOs), it was his second consecutive defeat. The Russian controversially fell short to Scull for the vacant IBF super middleweight title in October in Scull’s adopted home of Germany.
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