Cuban super middleweight Osleys Iglesias (13-0, 12 KOs) stayed patient for several rounds in his fight against Ukrainian contender Petro Ivanov (18-1-2, 13 KOs) before stepping up the pace and living up to his reputation as a power puncher.
Iglesias vs Ivanov starred in the main event in Thursday’s card from Montreal by Eye of the Tiger Management, along with several promising talents from north of the border.
“El Tornado” Iglesias easily won the first four rounds against the tough Ivanov, who put in time at the camp of Oleksandr Usyk. Ivanov tried to come inside against Iglesias without putting himself in danger, but he couldn’t touch him. Meanwhile, Iglesias was giving him a taste of what was to come, peppering him with jabs and hooks.
Iglesias used the lead left jab in the fifth round and moved on his feet to stay elusive. He found Ivanov with the left uppercut, placed twice under the chin to throw Ivanov back onto the canvas. Ivanov got to his feet, but the referee waived off the fight at 40 seconds of the fifth round.
Osleys Iglesias Breaks Out in 2024
If you don’t know Iglesias, get to know him now. The 26-year-old Cuban is on the brink of being recognized as a serious presence in the division.
The southpaw puncher is now 4-0 with four knockouts in a breakout 2024. He is currently ranked as the third contender by RING Magazine in the super middleweight division, sitting behind Jaime Munguia and EOTTM stablemate Christian Mbilli and just ahead of Diego Pacheco and Caleb Plant.
What’s even more exciting: many of the top division talents are still young. Mbilli is 29, Pacheco 23, and Plant is the elder statesman but is fresh at 32.
Steven Butler Bangs Out Victory
Steven “Bang Bang” Butler, a popular favorite from Montreal (35-5-1, 29 KOs), got back in the win column after a stoppage loss in June. He took care of business in one round against Fernando Farias of Argentina (12-3-3, 4 KOs).
Butler sent Farias to the canvas with a double left jab halfway through the first round. Farias attempted to work an overhand right on Butler, but the Canadian wasn’t having it. He dropped Farias hard with a hard right of his own over the temple of Farias, and that was enough for him at 2:36 of the first round.
Mathieu Takes Out Karalitzky
Sharp-shooting super middleweight Wilkens Mathieu of Montreal (12-0, 8 KOs) scored a fourth-round TKO victory against Marcos Karalitzky of Argentina (8-10-2, 2 KOs) at three minutes of round four.
Karalitzky has fought at cruiserweight, but his size didn’t do much to slow Mathieu down. Mathieu has excellent speed to go with his power. He took it to Karalitzky, who stood up to the pressure until Mathieu tagged him with a body shot. It was the end of his night.
Mathieu used the Sinatra classic “My Way” as his ring walk song. It was a tribute to the late father of his cornerman, Mike Moffa. Moffa said he doesn’t want the 19-year-old Mathieu taking too many risks while looking for opportunities.
“Wilkens, he’s got power in his hands … this kid has got power, he’s got smarts, he’s got everything to make a trainer look good. If he keeps putting in these efforts in and out of the gym, he can be a world champion,” said Moffa.
Asanau Stings Rueda
Two-time Olympian and EOTTM lightweight prospect Dzmitry ‘The Wasp’ Asanau of Belarus (9-0, 4 KOs) won his first title, the WBC Continental Americas belt, against former world title challenger and Argentine power puncher Matias Rueda (38-3, 32 KOs).
Asanau was too fast and accurate for Rueda. He did most of his damage with a wicked uppercut. Rueda caught Asanau napping in the second round and wobbled him slightly, but Asanau tightened things up and battered Rueda for his trouble until Rueda’s corner threw in the towel at 2:58 of the third round to end the fight.
Lightweight John Orobio of Colombia (12-0, 11 KOs), now based in Montreal, had an easy night, stopping Jacopo Colli of Italy (9-1-1, 4 KOs) in the first round. Orobio scored two knockdowns before the fight was waved off.