Oliver Zaren

Bio

Oliver Zaren is a Danish super middleweight out of Roskilde, unbeaten as a professional at 19-0-1 with eight knockouts. Nicknamed the Great Dane, the 26-year-old is a tall southpaw who has built his record with patience and tidy boxing rather than pure power.

He won the vacant IBF Inter-Continental super middleweight title with a unanimous decision last October, the sort of controlled win that earned him a place among the IBF's leading contenders. Earlier in his career he stopped Roberto Arriaza in two rounds with a right hand, so the power is there when the opening appears.

Zaren is the kind of southpaw who makes any champion think, using the awkward angles of the stance to keep opponents turning. The question every fight brings is whether he can turn that skill into the finish that big nights demand.

He gets his big chance on October 8, challenging Osleys Iglesias for the IBF and IBO super middleweight titles at the Theatre Capitole in Quebec City, live on DAZN. It is a proper step up, and we will find out quickly whether the Dane is ready for it.