Frank Sanchez found a way to speed up the pace in a fight that was stuck in first gear for several rounds.

The unbeaten Cuban heavyweight remained perfect after a seventh-round knockout of New Zealand’s Junior Fa. Sanchez scored three knockdowns, the last of which forced the stoppage at 2:42 of round seven in their heavyweight contest Saturday evening from Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Action was sparse for much of the first half of the contest. Sanchez tried to find a home for his jab, for which Fa was prepared but almost never had a response. Sanchez picked up the pace at the start of round three before he reverted to a low punch output and a lot of bobbing and weaving to disallow Fa the chance to set his feet and throw hands.

Fa nudged Sanchez to the canvas at the end of round five, the lone highlight of a slow paced bout to that point.

Sanchez woke up the crowd with the first knockdown of the night late in round six. A perfectly timed right hand behind a jab sent Fa to the canvas just inside the ten-second warning. He was able to beat the count but was on borrowed time by that point.

Combination punching by Sanchez dropped Fa inside the opening minute of round seven. Fa once again rose to his feet but drew the attention of referee Kevin Parker to ensure he was fit to continue.

Sanchez closed the show with a final right hand, which caused Fa to grab the rope before he collapsed to the deck. Parker issued a mandatory eight-count before he decided that Fa was done for the night.

The loss was the third in the past four fights for Fa, who fell to 20-3 (11KOs).

Sanchez advanced to 24-0 (17KOs) with his third win of 2023 and fourth consecutive knockout dating back to last October.   

Sanchez-Fa served as the curtain raiser of an eight-fight Pay-Per-View show. Anthony Joshua-Otto Wallin and Deontay Wilder-Joseph Parker co-headline an event that features six heavyweight bouts.

Jake Donovan is a senior writer for BoxingScene.com. X (formerly Twitter): @JakeNDaBox