Iglesias has been waiting for weeks to find out who will actually sign for the vacant belt after Terence Crawford retired and vacated his titles. The IBF first tried to name Iglesias with big names near the top of the list. The opportunities never turned into deals, and the process went down the list until Silyagin accepted.
Some prominent competitors declined the opportunity for various reasons related to time and channels. Canelo Alvarez has an eventual return date on his mind as he recovers from elbow surgery. Jaime Munguia did not make the fight as he worked towards other plans. Hamzah Sheeraz is being linked to another super middleweight title fight than the IBF fight with Iglesias.
Troy Williamson expressed interest, but his position is subject to a rematch clause. Callum Simpson exercised his right to an early rematch after being stopped by Williamson in Leeds last month, which has prevented Williamson from having another major fight in the near future.
Iglesias enters as the IBF’s number one contender and one of the division’s top punchers. The 28-year-old southpaw surged into 2024 with four stoppage wins in nine rounds, including early finishes of Marcelo Coceres and Evgeny Shvedenko, along with a dramatic knockout of Sena Agbeko and a fifth round stoppage of previously unbeaten Petro Ivanov. His breakthrough victory came on September 4, when he stopped undefeated Vladimir Shishkin in the eighth round of an IBF eliminator and earned his place at the front of the line.
Silyagin, 32, has fought exclusively in Russia since turning pro in 2020. He has a win over Isaac Chilemba, the only opponent Iglesias has taken the distance, and he fought Shvedenko in a welterweight fight in 2023. Silyagin’s most recent outing was a big win over Argentina’s Pablo Corzo last July.
If the trade reaches the line, it’s not the only target. It will also be about resolving the benefits if one team is based in Montreal and the other works outside of Russia, including what the cost and shape of the trip will be.
Iglesias was waiting for someone to accept him. Silyagin accepted, and lectures were to follow.