Richard Torrez Jr. was offered to face the #3 ranked Frank Sanchez in an IBF heavyweight title eliminator.
This will be a huge opportunity for the 26-year-old Torrez Jr. (14-0, 12 KOs) to lock himself into position as the IBF mandatory for champion Oleksandr Usyk.
Sky Sports revealed that the top ranking is in favor of 2020 Olympic silver medalist Torrez Jr. (14-0, 12 KOs) who will face the Cuban Sanchez (25-1, 18 KOs) “as long as the deal is proper.”
The IBF was going to offer #6 Jared Anderson the fight against Sanchez, but chose to choose the higher ranked #4 Torrez Jr. to present the competition first. If he declines the offer, it will be Jared who gets the call.
So far, these heavyweights have chosen not to fight Frank Sanchez:
- Moses It will hurt
- Filip Hrgovc
- Daniel Dubois
- Worship Ajagba
It’s not that those fighters fear Sanchez. They have other opportunities for fighting and do not have time to face him. Still, Sanchez’s hand speed, combination punches and power should be seen as a contributing factor to why the aforementioned fighters chose not to fight him.
The way Frank looked at 50% in his loss to Agit Kabayel showed that he is dangerous. Sanchez took that fight with a pre-existing injury to his right knee, still giving Kabayel all he could handle as he hobbled around.
It is understandable why the Top ranking would be open to three-year-old Prof Torrez Jr. too late to face off with Sanchez. The upside is so high that it’s hard not to pull the trigger on this game. If Richard Jr. prevails, he will be in a position to get a massive payday against Usyk.
Even if Oleksandr chooses to vacate the IBF title, Torrez Jr. will. will be elevated to full champion and will have interesting fights available to him as the new IBF belt holder.
The American Torrez Jr. has looked great in his last two fights, knocking out Tomas Salek in the first round and defeating 2016 Olympian Guido Vianello by a 10-round unanimous decision.
Last updated on 28/11/2025
