A dominant seventh-round knockout defeat to Agit Kabayel can cause that sort of thing to happen. Since that setback in May 2024, Sanchez got back in the win column with a third-round, technical-knockout win against overmatched Ramon Olivas Echeverria.

While it felt good to get the victory, Sanchez knows what a win over Richard Torrez, The Ring’s No. 8-ranked heavyweight, can do for his once-promising career. Beating Torrez in their IBF eliminator on the Oleksandr Usyk-Rico Verhoeven undercard Saturday night would be one of the biggest wins of his career, but Sanchez (25-1, 18 KOs) has even loftier goals than that.

“I just want to get back to where I belong,” Sanchez said during a press conference Thursday. “Get back to my spot and be the first Cuban heavyweight champion.”

While motivated, the betting world doesn’t believe him, as DraftKings lists Torrez as a 4-1 favorite. If Sanchez wins, he will move into a position of power by becoming the IBF mandatory challenger for one of Usyk’s titles.

However, that fight remains highly unlikely as The Ring, IBF, WBA and WBC champ has stated that he has just three fights remaining in his career before he retires and hasn’t mentioned the Torrez-Sanchez winner as a potential opponent for either of his two fights after the unbeaten Ukrainian faces Verhoeven.

Regardless, Sanchez’s championship dreams will fade into the Egyptian night sky if Torrez (14-0, 12 KOs) defeats him. The 2020 Olympic silver medalist is coming off a terrific 2025, beating Guido Vianello and Tomas Salek.

When it comes to pre-fight trash talk, Sanchez wouldn’t engage in any. Instead, he gave Torrez the respect he deserves, while also promising to take home the victory.

“He’s a great boxer,” Sanchez said. “But I’m the more technical boxer and I will show that on Saturday.”

Subscribers to DAZN’s Ultimate plan, which costs $49.99 per month in the United States and £24.99 in the United Kingdom, can view the four-fight Usyk-Verhoeven event for no additional charge. It is also available via pay-per-view in the U.S. ($59.99) and UK (£24.99) for non-subscribers.

The pay-per-view portion of this Ring event starts at 7 p.m. BST (2 p.m. ET).