QUEBEC CITY — Osleys Iglesias stamped himself as a legitimate contender at 168 pounds with a dominant stoppage of a former title challenger.
Iglesias wasted little time getting rid of Sena Agbeko, dropping him once before pummeling him along the ropes to force a referee’s stoppage at Centre Videotron in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada. The official time of stoppage was 1:16 of the second round.
Iglesias, a 26-year-old southpaw who is originally from Cuba but now lives in Berlin, Germany, became the first boxer to ever drop Agbeko (28-4, 22 knockouts), and was the fastest to stop the 32-year-old Ghanaian, besting David Morrell’s time by 27 seconds in their WBA super middleweight title fight last December.
Iglesias (12-0, 11 KOs) said it was victory, not trying to outpace his fellow Cuban, that was on his mind.
“I never even thought about it. I just work hard in sparring at the gym. I know a lot of people keep comparing us but it’s not something I had in my head. But without even knowing it, I got it,” said Iglesias, who is rated no. 3 by The Ring at 168 pounds.
Iglesias came out of the corner with the intention of testing Agbeko early on, bombing away with both hands as Agbeko struggled to cover up and avoid the heavy punches coming his way. Agbeko appeared to take the punches well enough until late in the first round, when he walked into a right hook that put him on the seat of his pants.
Iglesias, whose three fights under Eye of the Tiger Management have lasted a combined four rounds, had no intention of letting Agbeko off the hook. He continued to stalk Agbeko, cutting off the ring and mixing in right uppercuts between the gloves, which opened up Agbeko for right hooks, which compromised Agbeko’s legs.
With Agbeko unable to defend himself from the constant onslaught, referee Steve St. Germain had no choice other than to stop the fight.
Promoter Camille Estephan says the plan is to keep Iglesias busy, with another fight being eyed for November 7 at the Montreal Casino.
“It’s been difficult since the beginning. People know him, it’s very difficult to get opponents. You’ve got to get the dollars out because it’s not a picnic,” said Estephan.
“We want to fast track him and put him in a position to be a mandatory because he will never be invited.”
More people are likely to know Iglesias after this performance, as the fight was streamed live in the United States on ESPN+ as part of the Christian Mbilli vs. Sergiy Derevyanchenko undercard.
“I’m happy to show that there’s another Cuban over here that can fight but is not only a technician, is also aggressive and can knock out people,” said Iglesias.
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