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Add FightsATW on GoogleOn Thursday night, Eye of the Tiger (EOTTM) continues to showcase its international stable at the Capitole de Quebec in Quebec City.
Osleys Iglesias spearheads the show while attempting to defend his IBF and IBO super middleweight titles against the undefeated Dane, Oliver Zaren.
Eight titles are spread across five intriguing matchups, including Wilkens Mathieu vs. Vladimir Shishkin, Leila Beaudoin vs. Brisa Alfonzo, and Imam Khataev welcoming Padraig McCrory to North America’s oldest settlement. However, it is at the five-fight mark on the card that my head turns.
Promoter Camille Estephan pits two of his undefeated contenders against each other when Dzmitry Asanau collides with Luis Santana over ten rounds at lightweight. The last time EOTTM saw two tigers lock horns was when Steven Claggett rematched Mathieu Germain in Quebec City on May 15th, 2021, with Claggett losing a split decision.
The next installment of Tiger vs Tiger sees two men facing off who have more than just brushed shoulders at EOTTM HQ in Montreal.
“We are not friends, but we use the same gym,” Asanau exclusively told FightsATW at Tuesday’s official press conference. “We met and did a couple of rounds of sparring. He’s a good boxer, but at the end of the day it’s all about me showing my skills and showing my level. If you want to show people that you are a good boxer, you need to fight with a good boxer.”
Asanau (13-0, 7 KOs) and Santana (16-0, 7 KOs) have taken polarizing paths ahead of the biggest fight of their careers. Both men have extensive amateur backgrounds, but Asanau’s journey from his native Belarus via the obscurity of German undercard slots, to signing with Estephan over two years ago, reads quite differently from Santana’s career-long association with his fellow Québécois nearly six years ago. BoxRec picks Asanau as the favorite, with a 69% chance of winning the IBF and WBC continental title fight. The Belarusian’s lofty fourth-place ranking with the IBF and the WBC suggests that is the case. Santana isn’t currently ranked in the top 15 of the governing bodies, but I was told that the 28-year-old didn’t need any persuading to sign up to the challenge.
Asanau explained: “It’s a bit risky for me, but what can I do? They offered me this fight, and I cannot say no!”
Much of the talent within the EOTTM stable has difficulty being matched with worthy adversaries, largely a reflection of their abilities. However, Estephan appears ready to see more of his fighters matched against each other as Steven Butler and Erik Bazinyan continue the trend in Montreal next month. I also have my fingers crossed for a super middleweight unification at the Centre Videotron next year between Iglesias and Christian Mbilli.
“I don’t care too much about that type of stuff,” Asanau said in response to finding opponents. “It’s not my problem. My job is to do good preparation during a good training camp and produce a good fight. I don’t want to be involved in that process because I don’t want to waste my energy in that area. I’m working really hard on my training. If you ask the coaches and you ask my training partners, they’ll tell you how hard I work.
“I had my training camp for this fight in Montreal [instead of Dubai]. My first fight I had [with EOTTM] was in Quebec City, and I’m back to fight again. The public here and the opportunities here are amazing. I can see how Eye of the Tiger is improving the level of Canadian boxing. You can see this with the likes of Christian Mbilli, [Arslanbek] Makhmudov, Arthur Biyarslanov, Imam Khataev…They all fight worldwide. I’m very happy to be here and be a small investment into this big project. I came here for some training before I signed with them. I knew what was happening over here because I already knew a few guys from Eye of the Tiger. I know the Russian guys and I knew Christian Mbilli in the amateurs. Before the Olympic Games in 2016 he came to Belarus for a tournament.”
FightsATW spoke to Asanau at length upon him signing with Canada’s leading promoter. At the time, the Belarusian technician had experienced a year of inactivity, culminating in a record of 7-0 (3 KOs). Fast-forward to now, he’s within touching distance of a world title shot if he overcomes Santana tomorrow night.
“I hope I can show some beautiful boxing with me showing my best style in the ring.” Asanau added.
The IBF title at 135 pounds is currently vacant, while the WBC belt is under the stewardship of William Zepeda. Elsewhere at lightweight, Abdullah Mason is the WBO champion, and the WBA belt will be decided between Floyd Scholfield and Lucas Bahdi on Saturday night in Chicago.
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