By Hisham Zaben
Oliver Zaren will face a very difficult challenge when he challenges Osley Iglesisas for the IBF Super middleweight title this Thursday in Quebec, Canada. Zaren is arguably facing the number one guy in the 168 pound division. The concerning part about that is that Zaren completely lacks experience at the top level. That doesn´t mean that he can´t win, it just means that we haven´t seen him operate at that level before.
Iglesias would probably open as a favorite against anyone in the division including Canelo Alvarez, including Jacob Bank, including Hamzah Sheeraz and Janibek Alimkhanuly. That is the kind of challenge that Zaren is up against. Not only that, but Iglesias among his peers also has a lot of respect. So much so that two other top names declined to face him for this same date of Oct. 8. They knew what kind of challenge they would be up against in facing Iglesias.
Iglesias has stopped his last nine opponents dating back to 2022. Not only is he winning but he is also hurting guys with one punch or causing them so much damage thru several rounds that the fight must be stopped anyway. If that is not enough, he is also a southpaw and very tall for the division standing at almost 6 ft 3 in (1.90cm)
The fight will take place in Iglesias new adopted hometown of Quebec, Canada and he will enjoy being both the house fighter and the a-side of the promotion which makes it very difficult to snatch a decision win.
Oliver Zaren must be praised for his braveness here. He could have turned down this opportunity and continued in his own path. He had just fought Jose Luis Navarro jr in Spain and done well there in a bout that ended in a no-contest due to heavy rain. It looked like Zaren was the better of the two, and I believe he would have won the rematch if there would have been one. Had he beaten Navarro jr in a rematch, he would have captured the EBU European Super middleweight title and that would have been a fine milestone to achieve. He could have then defended that belt at home in Denmark a couple of times and gained more valuable experience and then after a few fights challenge for the one of the big four world titles. Why the need to rush it? A lot changes in a years’ time, and perhaps he would have gotten the opportunity to challenge a lesser fighter than Iglesias in a fight with circumstances that would more favor Zaren, than these here at the current moment.
But Zaren is showing tremendous confidence here in making this move and he must be praised for that. He is showing that he doesn´t turn down a tough challenge and how much he believes in himself. Sometimes that can be enough. I have personally seen Oliver Zaren up close several times in sparring with my fighters and I think he is very talented and very good. I wish Zaren all the best and if he would pull through this gigantic victory, it would be up there probably being the biggest Danish upset victory in history. He is listed as a 10-1 underdog and even higher in some books.
Just to put in perspective in another way. Even the great Mikkel Kessler hasn´t beaten many consensus number one ranked fighters in any division. Kessler ended his career with a record of 46-3 and the only victory among those 46 wins that would compare to Zaren beating Iglesias on away soil is Kessler´s victory over Froch in Herning, Denmark 2010. Froch is the only fighter of the 46 guys that Kessler beat who is comparable to how Osley Iglesias is seen at the moment. And even that victory, which is a very good win for Mikkel Kessler wasn´t such an uphill battle as this one. It was considered a 50/50 fight going in because Kessler was seen as much better and more experienced than Zaren is now and Kessler was fighting at home in Denmark.
If Oliver Zaren beats Osley Iglesias on Thursday night in Quebec, he will have done something absolutely fantastic and stamped his mark in the history books. He will be remembered forever in Danish boxing circles. I wish Oliver Zaren the best of luck and hope he pulls off the victory and becomes Denmark´s latest World Champion. Let´s go Oliver!