Terence Crawford believes that Richard Torrez Jr, now trained by Brian ‘BoMac’ McIntyre, will “shock a lot of people” when he collides with Frank Sanchez.
The pair are gearing up for an IBF title eliminator this Saturday, featuring on the undercard of Oleksandr Usyk vs Rico Verhoeven at Egypt’s Pyramids of Giza.
Whoever emerges victorious should then be presented with an eventual world title shot, which could arrive against Usyk if he defeats Verhoeven and chooses to keep defending his heavyweight belt.
More likely, though, is that the Ukrainian will relinquish his IBF strap, allowing the winner of Torrez-Sanchez to face the next available contender for a vacant title.
In terms of experience, it must be said that Sanchez boasts a slight advantage, especially when considering his unanimous decision victory over world-ranked contender Efe Ajagba in 2021.
Against Agit Kabayel in May 2024, however, ‘The Cuban Flash’ seemed far less fluid than usual and ultimately suffered a seventh-round stoppage defeat.
Perhaps Torrez, the younger man by around seven years, could therefore capitalise on his opponent’s hampered mobility and produce a dominant performance.
Such an outcome is what Crawford expects to see on Saturday, telling Ring Magazine that the Olympic silver medallist could steal the show.
“I’m happy to see Richard getting his just [desserts]. I wish him the best and I think he’s gonna shock a lot of people come Saturday.”
This represents Torrez’s first outing with head coach ‘BoMac’, who most notably guided Crawford to three-division undisputed status.
Most significantly, the American scored a wide points victory over Guido Vianello in April 2025, but now arguably faces his toughest professional challenge against Sanchez.
