IBF and IBO super middleweight champion Osleys “El Tornado” Iglesias broke down Oliver “The Great Dane” Zaren, scoring two sixth-round knockdowns before stopping the Danish challenger in the seventh on Thursday at Capitole de Quebec in Quebec City, Canada.
The Cuban southpaw’s first IBF title defense headlined Camille Estephan’s Eye of the Tiger card, streamed on DAZN. Iglesias gradually wore down his larger opponent before turning a one-sided contest into a decisive finish.
Zaren’s size and toughness kept him in the fight, but he could not land enough punches to slow the champion’s attack. Iglesias continued finding him with clean shots, increasing the punishment as the rounds passed.
The sixth was particularly damaging for Zaren. Iglesias put him down twice and left him with a cut over his left eyebrow. The challenger continued into the seventh, but his trainer, former super middleweight champion Mikkel Kessler, threw in the towel to prevent further punishment. The stoppage came at 1:31, with Eddie Claudio refereeing the scheduled 12-round contest.
Iglesias, who is based in Berlin, followed his title-winning victory over Pavel Silyagin with another stoppage. Zaren, from Roskilde, Denmark, showed determination in his first world title challenge, but the fight exposed how much more he needed offensively to compete with the champion.
Wilkens Mathieu Takes Split Decision Over Vladimir Shishkin
In the co-feature, Montreal’s Wilkens Mathieu retained his NABF super middleweight title with a split-decision victory over Vladimir Shishkin in a 10-round contest.
Two judges scored the fight 98-92 for Mathieu, while the third favored Shishkin 97-93. The divided scoring reflected a fight in which Shishkin’s boxing skills gave Mathieu considerably more to deal with than Iglesias faced in the main event.
Mathieu looked for heavy punches but did not always follow them with enough regular work, allowing Shishkin to compete through his more measured boxing. Steve St-Germain was the referee.
Dzmitry Asanau Outpoints Luis Santana
Dzmitry “The Wasp” Asanau defeated Montreal’s Luis Santana by unanimous decision over 10 rounds at lightweight, adding Santana’s NABF title to his IBF Intercontinental and WBC Continental Americas belts.
Asanau dropped Santana with a left jab to the chin in the third round. The judges scored the bout 98-91 twice and 97-92. Junior Padulo Jr. refereed.
Imam Khataev Knocks Out Padraig McCrory
NABF light heavyweight champion Imam Khataev needed just 69 seconds to knock out Belfast’s Padraig “The Hammer” McCrory in their scheduled 10-round bout.
Khataev landed a left hook to the head that dropped McCrory, who could not beat the count. Junior Padulo Jr. was the referee.
Leila Beaudoin Wins Every Round On The Cards
Leila Beaudoin, of Lévis, Quebec, defeated Argentina’s Brisa “La China” Alfonzo by unanimous decision in their 10-round super featherweight contest.
Beaudoin dropped Alfonzo with a body shot in the sixth round, with the challenger taking an eight-count before continuing. All three judges scored the fight 100-89. Alain Villeneuve refereed.
Daylen Pepin Stops Matias Pinilla
Quebec’s Daylen Pepin stopped Chile’s Matias Pinilla at 2:59 of the fourth round in their lightweight contest.
A flurry from Pepin brought the finish in the round’s final seconds. Jeff Topping was the referee.
Jacob Blais Defeats Yoan Trottier
Montreal welterweight Jacob Blais earned a unanimous decision over Quebec City’s Yoan Trottier in a four-round bout.
Trottier suffered a cut over his right eyebrow in the second round. All three judges scored the contest 40-36 for Blais, with Jeff Topping refereeing.