This is the second time the fight has drifted to the auction stage. A purse bid was originally scheduled for Jan. 6, then postponed when both camps signaled progress. That progress has stalled. With no agreement filed, the IBF backtracked and set a new date, leaving both sides a narrow window to resolve matters privately.
For Sanchez, the outing represents a chance to stabilize a career that slipped last year. The 33-year-old Cuban was stopped in seven rounds by Agit Kabayel in May 2024, a loss that removed him from the conversation around the top tier of the division. He returned in February 2025 with a third-round stoppage of Ramon Olivas Echeverria, although the result answered few questions as it was Echeverria’s fifth consecutive knockout loss.
Torrez comes in from the opposite direction. The 26-year-old from Tulare, Calif., an Olympic silver medalist, moved steadily and efficiently. In 2025, he scored a first-round knockout of Tomas Salek and followed that up with a clear ten-round decision over Guido Vianello. These performances pushed him into the Ring’s top ten and strengthened his reputation within the IBF.
Sanchez is #3 in the IBF rankings. Torrez is at #4. The top slot is vacant, and the second seeded contender, Derek Chisora, declined participation in the eliminator. Other ranked heavyweights including Efe Ajagba, Filip Hrgovic and Moses Itauma have also passed fights.
That context explains why this pairing exists and why the IBF is pushing forward. This is a functional solution. For Sanchez, this is a test of whether he still belongs near the front of the queue. For Torrez, this is the first moment where the route narrows and the safety net thins. The purse is now forcing both camps to decide how much that opportunity is really worth.
