Iglesias waited weeks to find out who would actually sign up for the vacant belt after Terence Crawford retired and vacated his titles. The IBF first tried to put Iglesias with bigger names near the top of the rankings. The openings never turned into deals, and the process moved up the list until Silyagin accepted.
Several notable contenders turned down the opportunity for various reasons related to timing and title routes. Canelo Alvarez has a later return date in mind as he recovers from elbow surgery. Jaime Munguia did not face the battle as he worked on other plans. Hamzah Sheeraz has been linked with a separate title shot at super middleweight rather than an IBF fight with Iglesias.
Troy Williamson has expressed interest, but his situation is tied up by a rematch clause. Callum Simpson has exercised his right to an immediate rematch after Williamson stopped him in Leeds last month, preventing Williamson from taking another big fight in the near future.
Iglesias enters as the IBF’s number one contender and one of the division’s most dangerous punchers. The 28-year-old southpaw surged into 2024 with four wins inside nine rounds, including early finishes of Marcelo Coceres and Evgeny Shvedenko, plus a TKO of Sena Agbeko and a fifth-round stoppage of previously unbeaten Petro Ivanov. His strongest win came on September 4, when he stopped undefeated Vladimir Shishkin in the eighth round of an IBF eliminator to secure his place at the front of the line.
Silyagin, 32, has fought exclusively in Russia since turning pro in 2020. He owns a win over Isaac Chilemba, the only opponent Iglesias has taken the distance, and he fought Shvedenko to a split decision in 2023. Silyagin’s most recent outing was a blowout win over Argentina’s Pablo Corzo in July.
If the deal gets over the line, it won’t just be about terms. It will also be about solving the practicalities when one team is based in Montreal and the other operates out of Russia, including where the fight lands and what the journey looks like.
Iglesias was waiting for someone to accept. Silyagin accepted, and talks are expected to follow.
