Jared Anderson will be offered to face #3-ranked Frank Sanchez in an IBF heavyweight title eliminator to determine a mandatory challenger for champion Oleksandr Usyk.
Top Rank’s Gamble
The promoters for the 26-year-old Ohio native Anderson (18-1, 15 KOs) at Top Rank are interested in their #6-ranked IBF contender to face the Cuban Sanchez (25-1, 18 KOs).
Sky Sports broke the news today about Top Rank being “open” to Jared facing Sanchez in the IBF title eliminator. It would be a gamble for the 6’4″ Anderson to take this fight, but it will have a high payoff if he defeats the experienced 33-year-old Sanchez.
Contenders Decline
It would be courageous on Anderson’s part to agree to face Frank Sanchez, as these top 10 contenders have turned down facing him in the IBF title eliminator:
- Moses Itauma
- Daniel Dubois
- Filip Hrgovic
- Efe Ajagba
- Richard Torrez Jr.
The way Anderson looked in his last two fights against Marios Kollias and Martin Bakole, he’ll likely be the underdog against Frank Sanchez.
Last year on August 3, 2024, Jared was knocked out in the fifth round by Bakole on Turki Alalshikh’s loaded card at the BMO Stadium in Los Angeles, California. Going into that fight, Anderson was seen by boxing fans as having an excellent chance of defeating Martin.
Things fell apart rapidly for Anderson when he was dropped in the first round by Bakole. In the fifth, he was knocked twice by the big 6’6″ Bakole and then stopped on his feet.
Anderson beat little-known Marios Kollias (12-4-1, 10 KOs) by a 10-round unanimous decision on February 14, 2025, in New York. The scores were 99-91, 99-91, and 98-92.
Anderson’s Title Lifeline
Fighting Sanchez might be Anderson’s best shot to get the opportunity to fight for a world title. He’s looked poor in his fights against Kollias, Bakole, Ryad Merhy, and Charles Martin. Those fights showed that Anderson has problems when taking big shots.
Sanchez’s Injury Note
Sanchez is an excellent puncher and possesses superb hand speed. His combination punching and boxing skills make him a nightmare for any heavyweight. Last year, he was stopped in the seventh round by Agit Kabayel on May 18, 2024. However, Sanchez fought with a pre-existing right knee injury in that fight, which played a part in his being stopped.
Despite the injury, he landed a lot of heavy combinations to the head of Kabayel that would have knocked out many heavyweights.