Frank Sanchez and Filip Hrgovic have another week to resolve their differences outside the ropes and find a way to meet in the ring.
BoxingScene has confirmed that the IBF approved a request to push back its purse bid hearing to May 22. The session was scheduled for Thursday but removed the item from its schedule at the urging of both parties.
Whether a deal is reached or it still goes to a purse bid, the ordered Sanchez-Hrgovic title eliminator will determine the next mandatory challenger to the IBF heavyweight title. England’s Daniel Dubois, 22-2 (21 KOs) is the current titleholder. The Londoner is set to next face unified heavyweight champ Oleksandr Usyk, 23-0 (14KOs) for the undisputed crown on July 19 at Wembley Stadium in London, England.
Representatives for Sanchez, 25-1 (18 KOs) and Hrgovic, 18-1 (14 KOs) initially accepted an IBF invitation to commit to a final elimination bout. The optimistic start quickly fizzled, as talks never really evolved during the assigned negotiation period.
Still, the timing was perfect for the proposed matchup. Hrgovic re-emerged as a top contender just a few days prior to the ruling with an April 5 unanimous decision win over Joe Joyce in Manchester, England. The bout came on roughly three weeks’ notice as the heavyweight contender replaced an injured Dillian Whyte fairly deep into the event.
It spoke volumes of Hrgovic’s readiness as he hadn’t fought in 10 months prior to that point. The 2016 Olympic bronze medalist was last seen suffering his lone career defeat when he was stopped by Dubois in eight rounds last June 1 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Sanchez suffered his lone career defeat just two weeks prior to Hrgovic’s setback. It also came in Riyadh, where the Miami-based Cuban export was stopped in the seventh round by Agit Kabayel, 26-0 (18 KOs) in their WBC title eliminator.
One win has followed, a confidence-restoring third-round knockout of Ramon Olivas on February 22 in Tijuana, Mexico.
Even with the extension, both Sanchez and Hrgovic are required to commit to the ordered eliminator since the matter is now headed to a purse bid per IBF rule 9c. Failure to move forward would result in the offending party dropping out of the top 10 and no longer eligible to participate in an IBF-sanctioned fight for at least six months.
Additionally, neither boxer can accept another fight in the interim.