The super-middleweight division continues to move on from Terence Crawford’s short undisputed reign, with the third of his four former titles being captured last night by one of boxing’s most fierce knockout artists.
Crawford scored a legendary victory over Canelo Alvarez to become the undisputed super-middleweight king back in September, but retired three months later, with a host of 168lb contenders hoping to benefit from the fragmented titles.
Jose Armando Resendiz and Christian Mbilli were elevated to WBA and WBC world champions respectively, whilst Hamzah Sheeraz and Alem Begic collide for the vacant WBO world title next month.
As for the IBF strap, that was on the line last night in Montreal, as Cuban southpaw Osleys Iglesias extended his record to 15-0 (14 KOs), claiming the vacant world title due to an eighth-round retirement from Russian challenger, Pavel Silyagin.
In the post-fight interview, Iglesias, who also holds the less-recognised IBO title, beamed with joy, revealing plans for a charge for the undisputed crown.
“Mom, I’m finally a double world champion – I hope you’re proud of me, but I’ve got more left to go to be undisputed.”
Iglesias was almost perfect throughout the eight-round beatdown, and would likely struggle to land the big fights had he not become champion.
As for becoming undisputed, one of the other belts is held by Mbilli, who is also promoted by Eye of the Tiger Promotions and Camille Estephan. After witnessing Iglesias’ latest and most fruitful masterclass, the promoter sent out a message to the rest of the division, outlining his goal to take control of each of the remaining titles.
“We have two titles. We have the WBC title with Mbilli, there is the WBA and WBO left. We’re gonna get them, so whoever has them. Right now, Sheeraz is fighting, Resendiz is fighting [Jaime] Munguia. All of them, one after another. Not the same night, [but against] whoever is gonna be courageous enough to go in with this guy [Iglesias].
“For Silyagin to quit on his stool, it tells a lot. He’s a very good defensive fighter, one of the elite technical fighters in the world. We saw he was hurt from the beginning. He showed a lot of heart, but he’s damaged. Who is willing? Who is out there? Caleb Plant? Munguia? Resendiz?”
An in-house fight between Mbilli and Iglesias will be on the cards, says Estephan, but only when all four belts are on the line. In the meantime, Mbilli continues to be linked to a lucrative showdown with Canelo.
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