IBO super-middleweight champion Osleys ‘El Tornado’ Iglesias (13-0, 12 KOs) stayed unbeaten with a fifth-round knockout of previously undefeated Ukrainian contender Petro Ivanov (18-1-2, 13 KOs) on Thursday night in the main event at the Casino de Montreal.
(Credit: Vincent Ethier)
In the fifth round, Ivanov, 28, walked into a powerful right-left combination from Iglesias that put him down on the canvas. Although Ivanov made it back to his feet before the count of ten, the referee chose to wave it off after taking a good look at him. The time of the stoppage was 40 seconds in round five.
Ivanov looked physically okay, but the referee may have decided he’d seen enough. He’d been hurt in round three by a right uppercut from the 26-year-old Iglesias and took a lot of heavy shots in a follow-up barrage from the Cuban.
The lanky 6’2″ southpaw Iglesias was hitting Ivanov with hard right hooks and left hands throughout the contest.
Ivanov focused on getting inside to land his shots, but found it difficult to do because he was getting hit on the way in. When Ivanov did lunge forward to land shots, he occasionally connected, but those instances were rare because Iglesias was backing away.
Ivanov’s nose was bleeding from the heavy shots he took in the third round. He was caught by a right uppercut that stunned him, causing him to retreat. Iglesias followed Ivanov and unloaded with some big shots, but he did a good job of covering up to ride out the storm.
Ivanov looked worn out by the fifth round and was caught by a perfect right-left from Iglesias that put him down on the seat of his hands. After Ivanov got up, the fight was halted.
It was an excellent win for the #5 WBC-ranked Iglesias. He showed outstanding power and boxing skills in this fight. This was Iglesias’ fourth fight this year; all were by knockouts.
The way Iglesias looked tonight, you’d have to list him as the favorite against any of the top contenders in the super middleweight division. He looks like he’s the best now that David Benavidez and David Morrell have moved up to light heavyweight.
