Frank Sanchez is on the hunt for a new opponent as boxing is spared an undesirable rematch.
BoxingScene has confirmed that Efe Ajagba will no longer proceed with an IBF-ordered heavyweight title eliminator against Cuba’s Sanchez. Sampson Lewkowicz’s Sampson Boxing claimed promotional rights to the contest, but Ajagba was disappointed with his end of the purse split and opted to move on from the opportunity. Boxing insider Carlos Linares was the first to report the development.
The bout would have represented a rematch to their meeting in October 2021, won by Sanchez via 10-round, unanimous decision. There were several delays in getting to the purse bid process after the two sides failed to reach a deal, as it was suggested by both camps that efforts were being made to strike a deal and the right opportunity for the fight.
Instead, it’s Sanchez, 25-1 (18 KOs), who is forced to await the next steps from the IBF on the title elimination process.
Had the fight moved forward, the winner would have become the IBF mandatory challenger to the undisputed heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk, 24-0 (15 KOs). However, there will be a wait for the opportunity.
The WBO interim titlist Joseph Parker is next in line and will next face WBA interim titleholder Fabio Wardley on October 25. Usyk will be immediately ordered to face the winner.
The matter caps a disappointing stretch for Ajagba, 20-1-1 (14 KOs) and who was the IBF’s number-three contender but is forced to drop out of their top 10. Additionally, he will be ineligible to participate in any IBF-sanctioned contest for a minimum of six months.
The 2016 Olympian from Nigeria – who is based in greater Houston, Texas – was previously due to face Martin Bakole in a title eliminator in May. However, Bakole ruined those plans when he accepted a short-notice assignment against Parker and was knocked out in the second round of their clash in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on February 22.
Ajagba and Bakole still went on to fight, though without IBF sanctioning attached to their meeting in Riyadh on May 3. They fought to a 10-round, majority draw.
Sanchez, 25-1 (18 KOs), previously defeated Ajagba via unanimous decision in October 2021.
The win was believed to put the Cuban-born heavyweight on a path towards a major title. It never came close to transpiring, however. Sanchez made it to a WBC title eliminator against Agit Kabayel and suffered a seventh-round stoppage on May 18 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Just one win has followed for Sanchez – a third-round knockout in a confidence-restoring mismatch on February 22 in Tijuana, Mexico. He was then stuck in a holding pattern when the IBF ordered him to next face Croatia’s Filip Hrgovic, 18-1 (14 KOs). The match-up was put in play in April, but talks never advanced and the matter was sent to a purse-bid hearing.
The session was twice delayed and then canceled outright when Hrgovic instead agreed to next face David Adeleye, 14-2 (13 KOs), whom he defeated on August 16 in Riyadh.
