According to a report from Dan Rafael on Wednesday, a source has confirmed that Osleys Iglesias will put his IBF super middleweight title on the line against Oliver Zaren on October 8 in Canada. The exact venue has not yet been named.
Iglesias (15-0, 14 KOs) claimed the vacant championship on April 9 in Montreal, securing an eighth-round stoppage over Pavel Silyagin. The hard-hitting Cuban has finished 14 of his 15 opponents as a professional, quickly establishing himself as a formidable force at 168 pounds.
While Oliver Zaren (19-0-1, 8 KOs) is not yet a household name, he currently holds the IBF Intercontinental title and is positioned at No. 5 in the organization’s rankings. In June, the 26-year-old Danish fighter squared off against Jose Luis Navarro Jr. in Spain—a matchup that ultimately ended in a no-contest when a severe thunderstorm forced a premature halt to the action.
Prior to that trip, Zaren had fought almost exclusively in Denmark throughout his seven-year professional run. Standing across from Iglesias will represent a substantial step up in the level of his competition.
This fight allows Iglesias to remain active while the division’s top draws focus on other matches. Christian Mbilli is scheduled to challenge WBC champion Canelo Alvarez on October 31, coming three weeks after Iglesias’ defense against Zaren.
Osleys has found it difficult to land a marquee opponent despite his run of knockout victories. With the super middleweight division’s top-tier champions and contenders locked into other plans, Zaren offers him a championship defense without requiring him to sit on the sidelines for several more months.
The ultimate goal remains the division’s biggest fights, and a matchup against Zaren won’t satisfy that hunger. However, another swift knockout would further strengthen Iglesias’ case for a unification bout in the near future.
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Last Updated on 2026/08/12 at 12:20 AM
