Osleys Iglesias returns to action to face Evgeny Shvedenko on Thursday

Rising super middleweight force Osleys Iglesias will face Evgeny Shvedenko at the Montreal Casino, Montreal, on Thursday.

Iglesias, rated at No. 8 by The Ring at super middleweight, is respectful of his opponent and is expecting a tough fight.

“There will be a good fight where you will see two men wanting to be the winner of the night,” Iglesias told The Ring.

“He is an opponent with a lot of experience and comes from a country where boxers are recognized for having good durability and precision in their blows.”

The tall Cuba-born southpaw won his first nine fights in Europe before signing with Canadian promoter Eye of The Tiger.

He made quite the impression in his first fight with his new team in March with a chilling first round knockout against usually sturdy Marcelo Coceres.

“I felt satisfied with that performance,” he said. “I am the boxer who was the fastest [to stop him] in his professional career. [He has been] in good fights and almost knocked out [Edgar] Berlanga.”

The 26-year-old has been training in Chemnitz, in the east of Germany alongside the vastly experienced Georg Bramowski, who previously worked with an array of boxers in his homeland including Yoan Pablo Hernandez, Arthur Abraham and Jack Culcay.

The team arrived a week before the fight and Iglesias is ready to showcase is ability and make a statement to the division.

“I hope for something positive from this fight with the faith of God ahead and me leaving with the victory,” he said. “I think about the future facing the number one in the division and I see myself as a winner, but to reach that future you have to earn the opportunity in the present and I am focused on that.”

Eye of The Tiger boss Camille Estephan was very impressed with what he saw in their first fight together and hopes it is just the beginning.

“He blew it out of the park, especially with the opponent he had,” said Estephan. “He made a statement. Now he has a very good opponent.

“We feel he’s the least known fighter for the skill he has, the ability he has, the potential he has, that ceiling he has – we’re extremely excited. We want the biggest names. He’s ready now, we just have to go through the motions.”

Shvedenko (16-1-1, 7 KOs) turned professional in his native Russia in 2015. He claimed wins over the likes of former world title challenger Nadjib Mohammedi (UD 10) and Artur Osipov (UD 10) but lost to William Scull (UD 12) in an IBF title eliminator.

The 33-year-old returned with a win and is coming off a draw with Pavel Silyagin (D 10).

This promises to be a really intriguing contest, as Iglesias pointed out Shvedenko is a tough fighter, who has never been stopped. I don’t expect Iglesias to walk through the Russian but I do expect him to use his skills to box his way into a lead. The big question is will he be able to force the stoppage. If he can do that, it would be impressive. I suspect Iglesias is that good and will score a stoppage in around 10-rounds.

Butler-Volny, plus undercard bouts, will be broadcast on ESPN+ at 6:30 p.m. ET/ 3:30 p.m. PT. and in Canada on punchinggrace.com at 6:30 p.m.

Questions and/or comments can be sent to Anson at [email protected].

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