On May 23, at the Pyramids of Giza, Richard Torrez Jr faces Frank Sanchez in an intriguing heavyweight showdown on the Oleksandr Usyk vs Rico Verhoeven undercard. This bout could well be the fight of the night, with the winner moving on to bigger opportunities. The entire card will stream live on DAZN Pay-Per-View. Ahead of Torrez Jr-Sanchez, the American has spoken to The Ring, welcoming a future showdown against the unbeaten British heavyweight Moses Itauma.
Richard Torrez Jr and Frank Sanchez ready for heavyweight showdown
Torrez Jr (14-0, 12 KOs) and Sanchez (25-1, 18 KOs) face off in an IBF heavyweight eliminator. It feels unlikely that the winner will get a shot at Usyk, with the Ukrainian being clear that he is targeting a specific fight, and has yet to mention Torrez Jr or Sanchez as a potential opponent.
Last time out, Sanchez defeated Ramon Olivas Echeverria, following up his stoppage loss against Agit Kabayel. Torrez Jr beat Tomas Salek, backing up the biggest win of his career against Guido Vianello.
Richard Torrez Jr welcomes Moses Itauma clash
Paying his respects to Itauma and relaying his desire to face the Brit, Torrez Jr said:
“I heard he’s a pretty standup guy and, hey man, at the end of the day this is business, you know?,” Torrez said. “We’ll get in the ring, do what we need to do, and if he wants to get a burger afterwards, we can. But like I wanna fight and I love that competition and he’s looking like he’s that guy, man.”
Itauma (14-0, 12 KOs) is scheduled to return to action on August 8, with Filip Hrgovic (20-1, 15 KOs) the rumoured opponent.
Discussing his desire to fight the best and previewing a potential showdown with Itauma, Torrez said:
“I don’t think you should be in the game if you don’t think you’re the best,” Torrez said. “You know, I thoroughly believe that I’m the best. I think my conditioning has been able to speak for itself a little bit. I’m an Olympic silver medalist. I think that my amateur pedigree, my amateur background has been able … to kinda give me a good foundation of being able to talk a little bit.
“And then, on top of that is, I mean, he’s a smaller guy like me. And we’ve got that speed and we’ve got that quickness. He hasn’t really fought anybody that kinda has that speed and quickness as well. And I would like to be able to throw my hat in there and just see how it goes, you know? And I think that with my feints, my conditioning and my style, it would make it hard for anybody.”
Glory in Giza full fight card
- Oleksandr Usyk vs Rico Verhoeven, 12 rounds, for lineal/WBC heavyweight title
- Hamzah Sheeraz vs Alem Begic, 12 rounds, for vacant WBO super middleweight title
- Shakhram Giyasov vs Jack Catterall, 12 rounds, for vacant WBA “regular” welterweight title
- Frank Sanchez vs Richard Torrez Jr., 12 rounds, IBF heavyweight eliminator
- Mizuki Hiruta vs Mai Soliman, 10 rounds, for Hiruta’s WBO women’s super flyweight title
- Daniel Lapin vs Benjamin Mendes Tani, 10 rounds, light heavyweights
- Basem Mamdouh vs Jamar Talley, 6 rounds, cruiserweights
- Sultan Almohammed vs Dedy Imprax, 4 rounds, lightweights
- Mohamed Mabrouk Yehya vs Michael Kalyala, 4 rounds, middleweights
- Omar Hikal vs Ali Sserunkuma, 4 rounds, welterweights
Stay with Big Fight Weekend for coverage of Oleksandr Usyk vs Rico Verhoeven, including results and video highlights, and post-fight analysis.