Frank Sanchez realizes Brian Howard can crack.
The Cuban contender watched Howard take out veteran heavyweight Carlos Negron in the first round 15 months ago at Barclays Center in Brooklyn. Beyond Howard’s power, though, Sanchez is sure they operate on completely different levels.
The 28-year-old Sanchez (15-0, 11 KOs) cannot wait to demonstrate his superiority over Howard on Saturday night, when they’ll meet in a 10-round fight FOX will televise from Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles. The Sanchez-Howard bout will air before a main event in which another Cuban heavyweight contender, Luis Ortiz (31-2, 26 KOs, 2 NC), will square off against Alexander Flores (18-2-1, 16 KOs) in a 10-rounder (8 p.m. ET; 5 p.m. PT).
“The one thing I see is that [Howard has] got a very good right hand,” Sanchez told BoxingScene.com through a translator. “He’s knocked out some decent fighters, so I have to watch for that. But having said that, I do everything better than him. I’m faster than him, I’m stronger than him, I have better technique than him, I have better power than him. Every checked box is in my favor.”
This is essentially a fight for Sanchez to stay busy, but he hopes a victory over Atlanta’s Howard (15-3, 12 KOs) will lead to a bigger opportunity next year. Sanchez, who is ranked ninth by the WBO and 15th by the WBA, is listed as a 12-1 favorite over the 40-year-old Howard.
“I’m ready to fight for a world title, whether it’s Fury, Joshua or Usyk, if he picks up a belt,” Sanchez said. “I wanna fight for a world title in 2021, for sure. I don’t care who it is – I just wanna fight the best. Whoever the best guys are, that’s who I wanna fight after this.”
Sanchez referenced Oleksandr Usyk in case Ukraine’s Usyk (18-0, 13 KOs) either beats Joshua or is ordered to fight another ranked contender for the WBO championship England’s Joshua (23-1, 21 KOs) currently holds. Sanchez figures to move up in the WBO’s rankings if he beats Howard.
Regardless, Sanchez’s confidence has increased since he started working with Eddy Reynoso, who also trains Canelo Alvarez, Andy Ruiz and Ryan Garcia.
“I feel so good right now,” Sanchez said. “In addition to everything I already came to the table with, now I have an amazing team. With Eddy Reynoso, and training with Canelo and Ryan Garcia, I’ve got a winning team. I feel great and everything is as great as it’s ever been for me. Every heavyweight has to watch out now, with me coming up.”
Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.
