The undefeated southpaw Iglesias is tall, powerful and throws a lot of punches. At 27, he is young and will be a nightmare for the 5’8″ Canelo to fight in the late stages of his career. But not only him.
So, with Canelo likely to decline the fight with Iglesias for the vacant IBF belt, the sanctioning body will move down the rankings and give #4 Jaime Munguia or #5 Callum Simpson the opportunity. Munguia already has options for other fights against better-known contenders in the 168-lb division. He is unlikely to agree to a fight against Osleys.
Callum Simpson was knocked out by Troy Williamson in the tenth round on 20 December 2025. It’s possible the IBF will choose not to ask Simpson because he took a lot of punishment in his loss.
Hamzah Sheeraz is #6 in the IBF rankings, but he has other options to fight for the vacant WBC or WBO belts. His chances of winning one of those belts are probably better than if he were to fight former Cuban amateur talent Iglesias. This is a bad match on paper for Sheeraz.
Why Silyagin makes the most sense
#7 in the IBF rankings is Pavel Silyagin. He is still undefeated, but he has faced no significant opposition during his five-year career. Chances are, if asked, he’ll accept the fight. The 32-year-old Silyagin is not a power puncher, and he struggled to beat the unknown Pablo Exequiel Corzo in his last fight on July 5, 2025.
Without much pop in his punches, Silyagin is set to face Osleys Iglesias for the IBF title if given the opportunity by the IBF. My prediction is that it will be Silyagin who ends up facing Iglesias because it makes the most sense for him to take the fight.
Crawford saw it coming
Had Crawford not vacated his IBF title, he would soon be ordered to defend against the 6’2″ Osleys. This would be a very difficult matchup for Crawford as he could not rely on his long reach to dominate with his jab like he did against Canelo.
Iglesias has the same range but a more powerful jab. If Crawford hadn’t vacated, he would have had a problem going up against Iglesias. He is a textbook example of a boogeyman, the guy who is avoided for good reason.
