The Path To Canelo: Iglesias And Shishkin Fight For A Shot At The IBF Title Tonight In Montreal

Osleys Iglesias battles Vladimir Shishkin in a 12-round IBF super middleweight title eliminator tonight at the Montreal Casino in Montreal, Canada.

Road to Canelo

The outcome of tonight’s Iglesias-Shishkin fight will determine the mandatory challenger for the IBF title currently held by champion Canelo Alvarez. That title could change hands if challenger Terence Crawford defeats him on September 13.

Tonight’s event will be shown live on Punching Grace.  The main card start time: 6:30 p.m. ET / 3:30 p.m. PT. Ring walks for the Iglesias vs. Shishikin headliner are at approximately 11:30 p.m. ET / 8:30 p.m. PT.

Tonight’s running order

• Osleys Iglesias vs. Vladimir Shishkin: Main event
• Dzmitry Asanau vs. Laid Douadi
• Avery Martin-Duval vs. Luis Campos Cortez
• Moreno Fendero vs. Boris Crighton
• Wyatt Sanford vs. Semjon Kamanin
• Jhon Orobio vs. Ivan Basurto Monroy

Shishkin (16-1, 10 KOs) is coming off a questionable 12-round unanimous decision to William Scull on October 19, 2024, in Falkensee, Germany. The fight reportedly set a CompuBox record for the lowest number of thrown punches with 445. Shishkin outlanded Scull 110 to 80, yet he still found himself on the losing end of a 12-round decision.

The 6’2″ southpaw Iglesias (13-0, 12 KOs) has the big power advantage in this fight with his 92.31% KO rate. For Shishkin to win, he’s going to need to neutralize the dangerous right hook that Iglesias throws. That’s his primary weapon in his arsenal, but his left is quite formidable as well. Shishkin can’t ignore that.

A Boogeyman’s Big Shot

The former Cuban amateur star, Iglesias (13-0, 12 KOs) is viewed as the boogeyman by some fans in the 168-lb division, as he’s a fighter that other contenders have maneuvered around. With an amateur record of 184-16, Iglesias faced some of the top fighters before turning pro in 2019.

Interestingly, despite having superior amateur credentials to contenders like Edgar Berlanga and Hamzah Sheeraz, Osley hasn’t been given the same high rankings.

Instead of getting the big fights, like those two, Iglesias has languished in less compelling contests that have received very little attention. I believe that Iglesias is the most talented of the contenders in the super middleweight division. He’s got the power and skills to defeat any of the 168-lb fighters in the weight class, including Canelo and Crawford, in my view.