Iglesias Destroys Zaren in Seven Rounds to Keep IBF and IBO Crowns

Cuban champion Osleys Iglesias defended his IBF and IBO super-middleweight titles on Thursday night, stopping previously unbeaten Oliver Zaren in the seventh round in Quebec City.

Iglesias Destroys Zaren in Seven Rounds to Keep IBF and IBO Crowns

Osleys Iglesias remains the man to beat at super-middleweight. The Cuban champion defended his IBF and IBO titles in devastating fashion on Thursday night, breaking down previously unbeaten Oliver Zaren before his corner threw in the towel midway through the seventh round at the Théâtre Capitole in Quebec City.

Iglesias, now 16-0 with 15 knockouts, controlled the distance from the opening bell behind a punishing jab. Zaren, a 26-year-old Dane in the biggest fight of his life, showed heart but began to show damage from the third round, with a cut over his left eye steadily worsening. Iglesias dropped him twice in the sixth before trainer and former Danish world champion Mikkel Kessler rescued his man in the seventh to save him from further punishment.

The defeat is the first of Zaren's career, dropping him to 19-1-1, while Iglesias strengthens his claim to a unification fight at 168 pounds after winning the IBF belt against Pavel Silyagin in April.

On the undercard, 21-year-old Montreal prospect Wilkens Mathieu passed a serious test, edging two-time world title challenger Vladimir Shishkin by split decision to claim the NABF title.