The IBF heavyweight title eliminator between Richard Torrez Jnr and Frank Sanchez is no longer on the March 28 fight card in Las Vegas after Sanchez suffered an injury in training, sources confirmed to BoxingScene.
The news was first reported by ESPN’s Andreas Hale, who writes that Sanchez, 33, is suffering from inflammation in his surgically repaired right knee. The Ring reports that a rescheduled date for May is being targeted.
Carl Moretti of Top Rank, which handles the 2020 U.S. Olympic silver medalist Torrez, confirmed the news to BoxingScene, adding that Torrez is now unlikely to remain on the card at the MGM Grand, which was scheduled to open the pay-per-view portion of the Sebastian Fundora vs. Keith Thurman card. “Just re-scheduling the Sanchez fight sooner rather than later,” said Moretti of the next step for Torrez.
Torrez, 14-0 (12 KOs), of Tulare, California is rated no. 4 by the IBF, and last fought in November, knocking out Tomas Salek in the first round in Mexico. The 26-year-old southpaw turned pro in 2022 and has been under the Top Rank banner since then.
Sanchez, 25-1 (18 KOs), originally of Cuba but now based in Miami, Florida, hasn’t fought since February of 2025, when he stopped journeyman Ramon Olivas Echeverria in three rounds, which was his bounce-back fight after his seventh round knockout loss to Agit Kabayel in April of 2024. He underwent arthroscopic knee surgery in June of 2024 to repair the damage to his knee.
