Osleys Iglesias Open to Christian Mbilli Unification Despite Shared Trainer
The IBF super middleweight champion says the shared trainer situation is no obstacle to a unification fight.
IBF super middleweight champion Osleys Iglesias says he is ready to fight WBC titleholder Christian Mbilli in a unification bout, even if it means their shared trainer Marc Ramsey has to pick a side.
Iglesias made his position clear ahead of his IBF title defense against Oliver Zaren on October 8 in Quebec City, per Boxing News 24. When asked about the potential complication of both champions training under Ramsey, Iglesias brushed it off.
"Whoever's in my corner is in my corner, but there are no excuses with me," Iglesias said.
Both Iglesias and Mbilli are promoted by Camille Estephan's Eye of the Tiger Promotions, which means the business side of a unification fight should be relatively straightforward compared to most cross-promotional matchups. The shared trainer situation is the only real wrinkle, and Iglesias has now publicly removed it as an obstacle from his end.
Mbilli has a massive fight of his own on the horizon first. The WBC champion faces Canelo Alvarez on October 31 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, in what could be the biggest fight of his career. If Mbilli pulls off the upset over Canelo, the landscape of the super middleweight division changes dramatically.
The question is whether a Mbilli victory over Canelo would lead straight to an Iglesias unification or open the door to bigger paydays elsewhere. A fighter who just beat Canelo Alvarez on the global stage in Saudi Arabia would have options that did not exist before, and a unification against a fellow Eye of the Tiger fighter might not be the most lucrative path forward.
For now, Iglesias is focused on Zaren. The IBF defense streams live on DAZN. If both champions handle their business in October, the unification conversation will only get louder.
I like Iglesias for saying this publicly. Too many fighters in boxing duck the hard conversations about unification. This guy is saying, look, I do not care who is in the corner. Let's fight. That is what fans want to hear.
But let's be real about the timeline. Mbilli fights Canelo in three weeks. If Mbilli wins that fight, he becomes one of the biggest names in boxing overnight. At that point, Estephan is not going to rush into a unification against another fighter he promotes when he could sell Mbilli against anyone in the world for ten times the money.
The unification makes the most sense if Mbilli loses to Canelo. Then both guys are at a similar level, the promotional alignment makes it easy, and the belts are the selling point. That is when this fight actually happens. Until then, it is a nice thing to say.
