Frank Sanchez ordered to face Efe Ajagba for a shot at Daniel Dubois' IBF heavyweight title

The IBF have ordered Frank Sanchez to oppose Efe Ajagba in an eliminator for the IBF heavyweight title.

The IBF heavyweight belt currently belongs to Daniel Dubois, who is preparing for his undisputed world title fight against Oleksandr Usyk at Wembley Stadium on 19th July.

There's been a degree of uncertainty surrounding the 'mandatory challenger' moniker after it was initially expected that Derek Chisora would be the one to face Dubois for the IBF strap.

However, Chisora's position became increasingly ambiguous when the IBF ordered Sanchez to fight Filip Hrgovic, with the Croatian unearthing a route back to a world title shot after defeating Joe Joyce by unanimous decision in April.

Hrgovic has since outlined his intentions to face David Adeleye on the undercard of Moses Itauma v Dillian Whyte in August, which has opened the door for Ajagba.

Sanchez and Ajagba met once before in 2021 and "The Cuban Flash" prevailed in dominant fashion to inflict Ajagba's first career defeat.

The Nigerian has gone unbeaten since the unanimous decision loss to Sanchez and was last seen contesting a contentious draw with Martin Bakole in May.

Sanchez, on the other hand, suffered his first professional defeat at the hands of Agit Kabayel in May last year and the 32-year-old, who underwent knee surgery after the loss, is eager to prove why he's deserving of a chance to become Cuba's first heavyweight champion.

Sanchez told Sky Sports:

Ajagba has improved as a fighter. It will not be easy, but when I am healthy, I can beat anyone in the world.

"I will win against whoever the IBF puts in front of me for the No 1 position.

"Turki has elevated the sport and given me big opportunities. The last time I disappointed him because of injury, that won't happen again."

The bout between Sanchez and Ajagba could potentially take place on the Canelo Alvarez v Terence Crawford bill in Las Vegas on 13th September.

Both Sanchez and Canelo are trained by Eddy Reynoso, with the former working alongside the Mexican coach since 2019.

Jaquob Crooke

• Daniel Dubois
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