Dismissed by many after suffering with persistent knee injuries over the past two years, the 33-year-old delivered a reminder of his quality on the "Glory in Giza" card last weekend.

He extinguished Richard Torrez's lofty ambitions for the short-term, icing the Olympic silver medalist with a short counter right uppercut to inflict the American's first professional defeat.

Given how quickly he got the job done in their IBF final eliminator, it makes sense Sanchez (26-1, 19 KOs) would want his shot at Usyk sooner rather than later and benefit from activity after a lengthy layoff.

His manager, Mike Borao, says the Florida-based puncher is prepared to face other top-rated competition in the meantime while clarity over Usyk's next move is sought.

"I'm currently reviewing options with my partner Lupe Valencia. As the mandatory challenger, our primary goal is to fight Usyk as soon as possible, but we'll see how that develops over the next few weeks," he told Sky Sports.

Usyk has been ordered to face Sanchez's former foe Agit Kabayel next, after the German won and defended the WBC interim title with stoppage victories over Zhilei Zhang and Damian Knyba.

Borao added: "If fights against top heavyweights like [Daniel] Dubois, [Deontay] Wilder, [Anthony] Joshua, [Tyson] Fury, Verhoeven, [Francis] Ngannou or others become available, Frank has no problem staying active against elite competition while waiting for his world title shot."

WBO titlist Dubois is set for an immediate rematch against Fabio Wardley at the end of 2026, while Joshua and Fury remain on a long-awaited collision course to box one another around the same time.

Former long-reigning WBC champion Deontay Wilder was in talks to face Usyk before Verhoeven slotted in as a voluntary defense, with many suggesting the Ukrainian's sluggish showing proves he has aged overnight.

"Usyk is a generational talent who has beaten the very best, he may have taken his last opponent lightly," said Borao.

"That said, Frank is still improving under Eddy Reynoso, while Usyk has likely peaked. We hope Frank gets the opportunity to box Usyk, but ultimately that decision rests with him."