Frank Sanchez vs Richard Torrez Jr

This is a good, evenly matched heavyweight fight, not one where everyone knows the result before the ring walk. Frank Sanchez brings Cuban schooling, a long frame, old amateur habits, and a record of 25-1 with 18 KOs. Richard Torrez Jr comes in unbeaten at 14-0 with 12 KOs, younger, shorter, busier, and with that Olympic silver medal pedigree behind him. They meet at the Pyramids of Giza on May 23 in an IBF heavyweight eliminator, after the fight was pushed back when Sanchez had trouble with his right knee.

Sanchez is the cleaner technician, tall, smooth, and happiest when he can control distance, touch with the jab, step off, and make a man fall short. If he gets that rhythm, Torrez could spend rounds chasing shadows. But Torrez is no mug. He is a short, aggressive southpaw heavyweight with a proper engine, and he does not just wade in like a pub doorman. He comes low, throws in bunches, and makes big men work at a pace they do not fancy. The nuts and bolts are simple: Sanchez has to keep it long and tidy, while Torrez has to get his head on Sanchez’s chest and turn this into a phone-box fight.

I am taking Richard Torrez Jr to win by late stoppage. Sanchez is good enough to bank early rounds if the legs are right, but that knee history bothers me, especially against a young heavyweight who will keep making him reset under pressure. Torrez will probably eat a few jabs and maybe look a bit crude in patches, but by the middle rounds, I expect his tempo, body work and southpaw angles to start dragging Sanchez into uncomfortable exchanges.