At this point, Frank Sanchez has nothing to lose by waiting until 2026 for his next assignment.
BoxingScene has confirmed that a negotiations extension was granted for an ordered IBF heavyweight title eliminator between Cuba’s Sanchez and California’s Richard Torrez Jnr. The two previously had until December 17 to reach terms but now have the entire holiday season to reach an agreement.
A purse bid hearing will be scheduled by the New Jersey-headquartered sanctioning body should the new January 6 deadline come and go without a deal in place.
is promoted by Warriors Boxing and Ural Boxing promotions, and co-managed by Mike Borao and Lupe Valencia. Torrez Jnr has been with Top Rank since signing out of the amateurs following his silver medal haul during the delayed 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
The development could prove to be positive news for Sanchez, 25-1 (18 KOs), though he will now go an entire year without a fight as a result. He has been inactive since a February 22 tune-up win in Tijuana, which only lasted two rounds.
The fight was his lone piece of ring action since a stoppage loss to Agit Kabayel in their WBC interim title fight last May 18 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Much of the downtime is directly attributed to failing to secure a dance partner for this oft-ordered final IBF heavyweight eliminator. Among the list of heavyweights who previously passed on the opportunity is Torrez, whose team never responded to an earlier invitation from the sanctioning body.
In his defense, Torrez, 14-0 (12 KOs), already had a scheduled fight at the time. The Olympic silver medalist for Team USA during the delayed 2020 Tokyo Olympics was already set for his November 15 clash with Poland’s Tomas Salek, whom he stopped in the first round in San Luis Potosi, Mexico.
The fight was just the second of the year for Torrez, after having fought four times each in 2022, 2023 and 2024.
It was still one more ring appearance in 2025 than was the case for Sanchez, who has sat through failed negotiations and canceled purse bids with nearly a half dozen heavyweights.
The team for unbeaten contender Moses Itauma never moved forward with talks. Filip Hrgovic and former IBF titlist Daniel Dubois both walked away at the purse bid stage, while past opponent Efe Ajagba bailed even after promotional rights were secured for their targeted rematch.
Working in Sanchez’s favor, to a degree, is the fact that Top Rank – Torrez’s promoter – remains without a TV or streaming rights deal. The Las Vegas-based company has been forced to piece-meal opportunities for its deep roster of talent.
That said, Sanchez is also a man without a country. He was previously a regular on the Premier Boxing Champions (PBC) circuit, but there has been little expressed interest in his career from that outlet or other suiters since a pair of Riyadh Season appearances.
In the event that a Sanchez-Torrez matchup actually makes its way to the ring, the eventual winner will become the IBF mandatory challenger to unified champ Oleksandr Usyk, 24-0 (15 KOs), who also holds the WBA “Super” and WBC titles.
