Richard Torrez Jr. has been offered to face #3-ranked Frank Sanchez in an IBF heavyweight title eliminator.
It would be a big opportunity for the 26-year-old Torrez Jr. (14-0, 12 KOs) to lock himself in position as the IBF mandatory for champion Oleksandr Usyk.
Sky Sports reveals that Top Rank has in favor of the 2020 Olympic silver medalist Torrez Jr. (14-0, 12 KOs) facing 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 offer the higher-ranked #4 Torrez Jr. the contest first. If he turns down the offer, it’ll be Jared who gets the call.
Thus far, these heavyweights have chosen not to take the fight with Frank Sanchez:
- Moses Itauma
- Filip Hrgovc
- Daniel Dubois
- Efe Ajagba
It’s not that those fighters are afraid of Sanchez. They’ve got other opportunities for fights and don’t have time to face him. Still, Sanchez’s hand speed, combination punching, and power have to be seen as a contributing factor for why the above fighters chose not to fight him.
The way Frank looked at 50% in his loss to Agit Kabayel showed that he’s dangerous. Sanchez took that fight with a preexisting injury to his right knee, and still gave Kabayel all he could handle while hobbling around.
It’s understandable why Top Rank would be open to letting the three-year pro Torrez Jr. face Sanchez. The upside is so high that it’s hard not to pull the trigger on this matchup. If Richard Jr. is victorious, he’d be in a position to get a massive payday against Usyk.
Even if Oleksandr opts to vacate the IBF title, Torrez Jr. would be elevated to full champion and would have interesting fights available to him as the new IBF belt-holder.
The American Torrez Jr. has looked superb 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.