Osleys Iglesias (right) lands a punch on Sena Agbeko – Photo by Mikey Williams/Top Rang
Less is more.
That is certainly the case with rising super middleweight contender Osleys Iglesias.
The Cuban destroyer left a trail of destruction in its wake. He fought three times this year and took out very respectable company in a combined four rounds.
Iglesias will return in arguably his toughest test yet when he meets undefeated Petro Ivanov at the Montreal Casino, Montreal, on Thursday.
“It’s an interesting fight, a very good boxing fight,” Iglesias (12-0, 11 knockouts) told The Ring through translator Bilal Tutunji Diaz. “Two different styles, a good performance, an aggressive fight.
“I come into this fight as usual, to win, but everything is with the grace of God. We are going to get the same result as we got in the last three fights.
“I feel really good coming into this fight. I trust the process in my training to reach the goal of becoming undisputed champion. From now until then we are on a good run.”
Iglesias, rated as no. 3 by The Ring at super middleweight, definitely don’t believe in overtime.
He more than lived up to his nickname “The Tornado”.
“I’m really proud and happy about it,” he said of his recent form. “I came from far, a small town back in Cuba and I was never expected to come this far, but today I am where I wanted to be and living the dream.
“I feel great, the punch is the punch, I know I’m a powerful puncher, but at the end of the day I’m glad I won.”
Osleys Iglesias (right) celebrates another victory – Photo by Vincent Ethier
Despite his recent trio of early finishes, Iglesias claims the knockout is not his goal going into the fight.
“It’s not something I’m looking for,” he said. “It’s a boxing fight, I’m getting ready for round after round. You have to be smart and focused and if the opportunity comes, we’re going to take it.
“I always look at 12 rounds, but the more the fight progresses, you can see he is getting weaker and with a good angle we can make the decision to end the fight.”
As well as his opposition, he left a big impression on Eye of The Tiger president Camille Estephan.
“We’re excited about him, so far everything we’ve seen points in the direction of a superstar,” Estephan said. “He’s got the height, the reach, the strength, the skill, he’s got the work ethic, he’s got a great team around him, he’s disciplined, he’s hungry.
“I think Ivanov is a very difficult opponent, he is very good. I think he’s probably going to test Osley.”
Ivanov (18-0-2, 13 KOs) turned professional in 2014 in his native Ukraine. His two career upsets came against former amateur standout Ramil Gadzhyiev and undefeated Igor Kudrytskyi.
He upset French fighter Louis Toutin by ninth-round knockout on the road in his opponent’s backyard in France. He has since moved to Germany and has won nine in a row.
Iglesias-Ivanov, plus undercard bouts, will be on ESPN+ and punchinggrace.com at 6:30 PM ET/3:30 PM PT and on TVA Sports in Canada starting at 7:00 PM
Questions and/or comments can be sent to Anson at (email protected).
