Hrgović wants Dubois – but his manager plans the mandatory defence against Sánchez first
IBF champion Filip Hrgović demanded a rematch in the ring after Dubois beat Wardley. His manager wants to deal with mandatory challenger Frank Sánchez first.
Archive image · Photo: Cristiana Giustino / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped and resized)
After Daniel Dubois’ win over Fabio Wardley in London on Saturday, IBF heavyweight champion Filip Hrgović entered the ring and demanded an immediate unification in March. The Croatian suffered the only defeat of his career against Dubois in June 2024, when the fight was stopped on cuts.
His manager Keith Connolly is applying the brakes, however: “We’ll probably fight Sanchez and get that out of the way and then do the bigger fight afterwards,” he told BoxingScene, according to Boxing 24/7. “Sanchez is not going to knock my guy out.” Mandatory challenger Frank Sánchez took step-aside money so that Hrgović could fight Moses Itauma for the title in August.
According to The Ring, the Sánchez fight is set for Croatia in early 2027; no official date has been set yet. If Hrgović wins, a spring unification with WBO champion Dubois would be possible, according to The Ring.