Richard Torrez Jr. vs. Frank Sanchez: IBF Title Elimination Fight Cancelled
The expected IBF heavyweight title eliminator fight between the undefeated Richard Torrez Jr. and Frank Sánchez, scheduled for March 28, has been canceled. Sources close to the situation revealed that Sánchez suffered an injury that prevents his participation. Torrez Jr. (14-0, 12 KOs) was scheduled to face Sánchez (27-1, 18 KOs, 1 No Contest) on the pay-per-view event that will headline Sebastian Fundora’s WBC junior middleweight title defense against Keith Thurman at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. However, Sánchez, of Cuban nationality, was forced to withdraw from the fight due to a knee injury. The inflammation in Sánchez’s right knee, which had already been operated on, will force the fight to be rescheduled for a later date. Both Torrez Jr. and Sánchez are among the top ten heavyweights in the rankings. The winner of this matchup would become the mandatory challenger for Oleksandr Usyk, who currently holds the IBF, WBC, and WBA titles. Usyk will put the WBC title on the line against kickboxer Rico Verhoeven on May 23 at the Giza Pyramids, Egypt. Recently, Usyk stated that he has three fights left before retiring, and the winner of the fight between Torrez and Sánchez was not on his list of opponents.Torrez Jr. is coming off a stoppage victory against Tomas Salek last November, while Sánchez defeated Ramón Olivas Echeverría by technical knockout in the third round in February.First, Rico [Verhoeven]. Second, whoever wins between [WBO champion Fabio] Wardley or [Daniel] Dubois, and the third fight, my friend, the greedy Tyson Fury.
Oleksandr Usyk
