The long-running negotiations for the IBF heavyweight title eliminator between Frank Sanchez and Richard Torrez Jnr have finally produced a deal as both sides reached terms ahead of a rescheduled January 27 purse bid hearing, prompting the IBF to cancel the session and clear the way for the fight to move forward.
Sanchez and Torrez will meet on March 28 on a Premier Boxing Champions on Prime Video pay-per-view card from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. The bout will serve as an IBF heavyweight title eliminator on a show headlined by the Sebastian Fundora–Keith Thurman WBC junior middleweight title fight.
The agreement brings an end to a process that began last April and required multiple extensions. Torrez initially declined the opportunity due to a prior commitment, but he re-entered the picture after stopping Tomas Salek in the first round last November and notifying the IBF of his availability. Several delays followed before the two sides were able to find common ground.
For Sanchez the timing means a lengthy layoff. The Cuban heavyweight has not fought since February of last year, when he returned in Tijuana following his lone career defeat, a seventh-round stoppage loss to Agit Kabayel in a WBC interim title fight in May 2024. Torrez, a 2021 Olympic silver medalist, has remained unbeaten but fought just twice in 2025, his least active year as a professional.
The stakes are significant. The winner of Sanchez vs. Torrez will become the mandatory challenger for unified heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk. However, when that title shot might be enforced remains unclear, as Usyk is currently planning a summertime return, likely in a voluntary defense.
Image Credit: Ready to fight