Osleys Iglesias: 'My daughter is my engine, my mother is my heart'
- Shidonna Raven
- 3 days ago
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This Article has been curated by UDBN
September 3, 2025
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For Osleys Iglesias, his journey to pro boxing began with a broken promise.
He plans to culminate it by keeping a promise of his own.
Iglesias was just 21 years old when he made the trip to Cologne, Germany for the 2019 World Boxing Cup. The four-day tournament attracted some of the world’s best boxers from across Europe and Asia and was an opportunity for Iglesias – born in Havana, Cuba - to show he could win at the highest level heading into an Olympic year. The head trainer of the Cuban team gave him an additional incentive just before the tournament began.
“He told me, ‘If you win the gold medal, you can be the face of the amateur boxing team,’” Iglesias to BoxingScene.
Iglesias did just that, never dropping a scorecard in four straight fights to win the gold, defeating future Olympic bronze medalist Gleb Bakshi along the way.
What should have been his statement-making achievement to that point turned to disappointment as soon as Iglesias walked down the ring steps.
“They told me, ‘You're too young to be the face of the boxing team,’” said Iglesias.
That was the last thing he wanted to hear. “I’m not somebody that likes to be on standby and not be able to do my thing,” he added.
At that point, he put in a call to his mother, Belkiz, back home in Cuba and told her what his plans were.
“It was a really difficult conversation. It’s really hard to describe. It was really sad,” said Iglesias of him telling his mother that he was not coming home, and would be staying in Germany to begin his professional career.
“It was one of my hardest goodbyes, but I knew that I was going to see her again. But I wasn't expecting it to be this long, six years without seeing her.”
Iglesias promised his mother that, the next time they saw each other, he would be a world champion. Now 27, Iglesias, 13-0 (12 KOs), will take his biggest step towards that goal when he faces former world title challenger Vladimir Shishkin this Thursday at Montreal Casino in Montreal, Canada.
The fight, which will be broadcast worldwide on punchinggrace.com, is an eliminator for the no. 1 ranking with the IBF at 168lbs.
Shishkin, 16-1 (10 KOs), represents more than just a symbolic hurdle. The 34-year-old Russian boxer, who now makes his home in Miami, is coming off a close decision loss to William Scull last October in a fight for the vacant IBF super middleweight belt.
Had Shishkin gotten the decision - which many felt could have gone his way - it would have been Shishkin instead of Scull fighting Saul “Canelo” Alvarez this year in a mega-million-dollar unification fight in Saudi Arabia.
Promoter Camille Estephan of Eye of the Tiger Management (EOTTM) calls Shishkin “the perfect opponent” for Iglesias at this point, and says they are very familiar with how dangerous Shishkin could prove to be.
“Shishkin is one of the only guys that can hang with Artur Beterbiev in camp, he's one of his main sparring partners,” said Estephan. “Iglesias can really shine if he comes up with a big performance and wins.”
“He’s going to try to use his experience against me,” Iglesias surmises, keeping his cards close to his chest. “I can’t guess what he brings to the table. But I have an idea of what type of fighter I have in front of me.”
There likely isn’t any style of boxer that Iglesias hasn’t yet seen in the ring.
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Marcus Doggett, Chief Editor
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