Sanchez stepped aside with a guaranteed shot at the winner. Now Hrgovic wants unification fights against Agit Kabayel or Daniel Dubois, with another payment offered as the solution. Sky Sports confirmed Sanchez’s guarantee before the fight.
“Frank Sanchez will wait, get another step-aside, make money without fighting and everyone’s happy,” Hrgovic said after his victory, as quoted by The Ring.
Everyone being happy is Hrgovic’s interpretation. A payment compensates Sanchez for a delay. It does not give him the championship or the earning power that comes with winning it.
There is a competitive cost, too. Waiting without fighting offers no opportunity to sharpen distance judgment and counterpunch timing under pressure. Taking an interim bout carries its own risks: an injury or defeat can damage his claim. Neither option makes a postponement harmless.
His style also gives this defense sporting value. Against Efe Ajagba, Sanchez used movement and quick counters to frustrate a bigger puncher rather than trading on his opponent’s terms. PBC’s fight report documents that performance.
Applied against Hrgovic, that approach would test the champion’s ability to close distance, establish his jab and create exchanges. He cannot build a strategy around Sanchez exhausting himself the way Itauma did. A patient opponent willing to score and move presents a different task from surviving an early assault.
That does not make Sanchez tougher than Kabayel or Dubois. Limited commercial appeal is still a poor reason to dismiss him as an opponent.
The IBF has a role beyond approving whatever deal generates the largest purse. In 2023, it stripped Terence Crawford after his contractual rematch obligation to Errol Spence Jr. prevented a mandatory defense against Jaron Ennis. That was a rematch dispute, not a unification request, so it does not settle Hrgovic’s case. The decision nevertheless demonstrates that commercial plans need not override a challenger’s position. ESPN’s report explains the decision.
The appeal of another belt is understandable. Hrgovic wants to maximize his remaining years, but Sanchez’s career clock is running as well. Further delays leave him dependent on other fighters’ results, recovery periods and negotiations.
There is nothing wrong with voluntarily accepting an offer he considers worthwhile. The choice, however, should remain his. Insisting on the promised fight would not make him an obstruction to heavyweight unification.
Hrgovic deserves credit for beating Itauma. Sanchez deserves the opportunity that was agreed upon before the winner was known.
