Osleys Iglesias will make the first defense of his IBF super middleweight title against Denmark’s Oliver Zaren on October 8 in Quebec.
ESPN KnockOut analyst Julius Julianis first reported on X the fight Monday night. Iglesias’ IBO belt, in addition to his IBF title, will also be at stake against the 26-year-old Danish southpaw.
The matchup gives Iglesias a challenger who has yet to lose as a professional. Zaren is 19-0 with one draw and seven knockouts and has spent most of his career fighting in Europe.
Iglesias, 15-0 with 14 knockouts, captured the vacant IBF title by stopping Pavel Silyagin in the eighth round in April in Montreal. The Cuban southpaw had already established himself as one of the division’s biggest punchers before winning the belt.
Zaren had been linked to Iglesias several weeks ago after withdrawing from negotiations for a European title fight against Jose Luis Navarro. Those talks never produced a fight, opening the door for his first world title opportunity.
The fight also keeps Iglesias at super middleweight after a possible meeting with WBC middleweight champion Carlos Adames failed to come together earlier this year.
Zaren faces a massive jump in competition. Iglesias has stopped 14 of his 15 professional opponents, including Silyagin, Petro Ivanov and Evgeny Shvedenko.
The Danish challenger has never faced anyone with Iglesias’ combination of power and experience at this level. Zaren will have to prove quickly that his success against European opposition prepared him for a champion who has rarely needed the scorecards.