Osleys Iglesias and Vladimir Shishkin are just two weeks away from meeting in a high-stakes IBF super middleweight title eliminator on Sept. 4. at the Montreal Casino in Canada.

The winner will emerge as the IBF mandatory challenger to undisputed super middleweight Canelo Alvarez's throne. Alvarez, of course, is preparing for his super fight against Terence Crawford on Sept. 13.

Should he remain victorious, Alvarez would certainly look for bigger and more lucrative fish to fry in 2026. But as recent history shows, sanctioning body semantics can derail such plans. After all, Alvarez is coming off a dull dance during a decision win in May against William Scull. The Mexican star took the fight only to reclaim the title he’d previously vacated. Scull landed the belt after beating Shishkin by a disputed decision in October.

“Shishkin had a close fight against Scull and it was a fight that many observers, including myself, thought that he won,” Shishkin promoter Dmitry Salita told The Ring.

“It should have been Vladimir who ended up fighting Canelo. We filed an appeal with the IBF and are grateful they granted Shishkin another shot for the top slot. It was a long, tedious route to get in this position to fight Iglesias.

“It's a great matchup between two guys who are not yet that well known, but both are very talented - a battle between two of the best kept secrets in the division. It's one of the most competitive fights the sport can offer. Shishkin is an intelligent fighter who has all of the tools to get the job done against Iglesias, a more offensive-minded fighter than Scull.

“Iglesias is a very good fighter and he's not overrated. He's a big, tall, mean, skilled fighter who knows how to turn it up. Shishkin has to use his boxing IQ and experience to control the pace at a high level. It will definitely be a much more exciting fight.”

Shishkin (16-1, 10 KOs) is a 34-year-old technician from Russia who’s been trained by SugarHill Steward since 2019. Shishkin hasn’t fought since dropping the decision to Scull, but remains a rung below the former titleholder in The Ring's 168-pound rankings at No. 9.

Iglesias (13-0, 12 KOs), a 27-year-old hard-hitting Cuban southpaw based in Germany, has knocked out his last seven opponents and his fights last an average of three rounds. The Ring's No. 3-ranked contender last fought in November, scoring a fifth-round stoppage against Petro Ivanov.

“Not too many guys want to fight either Shishkin or Iglesias, so they are fighting each other to see who's the best man standing,” Salita continued. “It's a true fight for the No. 1 position, may the best man win."