Frank Sanchez and Filip Hrgovic fight for IBF Eliminator, potential 2026
The IBF ordered #4 Frank Sanchez to fight #6 Philip HRgovic in the heavyweight title eliminator. The winner is a must for IBF champion Daniel Dubois. They will have to wait until the current mandatory Derek Chisora gets a title shot against DuBois.
Sanchez (25-1, 18 Kos) and Hrgovic (18-1, 14 Kos) were both knocked out twice before. It seems a little early that they are given another opportunity to stand up themselves to fight for the world title. This is how IBF works.
Timeline to the shot
Chisora will win a shot at the winner of the Dublois vs. Oleksandr Usyk 2 rematch later this year. If everything goes well, the winner of Sanchez-hrgovic will take on the IBF title in early 2026. This is the best case scenario. In the worst case, they will have to wait until 2027.
Makes certain fighters easily get title shots. Thus, Chisora, 41, has been working on the mandatory slot with the IBF after beating Otto Warlin, Joe Joyce, 39 and 42, in the final three fights. It makes the meaning cheap that a chosen fighter is essential when it is very simple.
Dubois is expected to face a rematch with unified three-belt heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk. The winner of that fight defends Chisora and then becomes the winner of the battle of Sanchez Fulgovic.
Hrgovic has had many troubles in his final fight and went 10 rounds to defeat Joe Joyce by unanimous decision on April 5th. After the fight, Hrgovic’s face looked like he was attacked by a truck. A slow, heavy shot from Joyce caused a lot of damage.
Sanchez looks much older than his 32-year-old era, but was stopped in the seventh round on May 18th last year by Agit Kabayel. He was dropped twice by Cabayer in the seventh round due to knee problems. If Sanchez’s knee is still giving him a problem, he is likely to lean on him to test that problem, so he is not going to last long against Hrgovic.
Latest news on El Animal’s next potential battle pic.twitter.com/nmkxahwfpa
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Last updated on 04/16/2025