IBF orders Frank Sanchez vs Moses Itauma negotiations, but Bakhodir Jalolov still most likely
· Yahoo Sports
Oleksandr Usyk‘s decision to vacate the WBC, WBA, and IBF heavyweight titles has set off a ripple effect, as you would expect.
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The WBC have already promoted Agit Kabayel from interim to full title status. And while the WBA have Murat Gassiev as their “world champion,” they may still basically ignore that and declare a vacant “super world” title fight at some point.
The IBF have now made their call, and have officially ordered negotiations between Frank Sanchez and Moses Itauma. But don’t get ahead of yourself here, and don’t expect that to be the fight. Bakhodir Jalolov still looks like the most likely next opponent for Sanchez and the vacant IBF title.
Itauma is busy, and so are others
Sanchez (26-1, 19 KO) won an IBF eliminator in May, crushing Richard Torrez Jr. Sanchez sits as the IBF’s No. 1-ranked contender at the moment. Meanwhile, Itauma (14-0, 12 KO) is at No. 3, with the No. 2 slot sitting vacant.
But Itauma already has a big fight in place, as he’s going to face Filip Hrgovic on August 29 in London. If or when Itauma officially passes on the order to negotiate with Sanchez, then the IBF would go down the line.
At the moment, Hrgovic is No. 4, so obviously he’s not in the race, either. Anthony Joshua is at No. 5, and Joshua is busy with a July 25 fight against Kristian Prenga, which is meant to lead to a mega-fight with Tyson Fury, who will fight on July 24 in Thailand.
Fury vs Joshua is where the WBA’s “super world” “vacancy” could come into play.
The IBF would then be down to No. 6-ranked contender Jalolov, and the way this all looks to line up right now tells you exactly why so many in boxing have been assuming that, when all the posturing is said and done and the steps have been followed by the book, Sanchez vs Jalolov looks like the most likely fight to fill the IBF’s vacancy.
Can amateur great Jalolov finally see real pro success?
The 31-year-old Jalolov is a talented fighter and has an impressive-looking pro record at 17-0 (15 KO). But that record isn’t all it’s cracked up to be, on the occasion someone feels like cracking it up to be something.
After winning gold at the Tokyo and Paris Olympics as a super heavyweight, Jalolov did make a social media statement that he would retire from the amateurs and focus on his pro career, but that focus has been so-so. He actually had his pro debut back in 2018 with a fair amount of hype, but his professional run just hasn’t amounted much, even following the 2024 Olympics when his focus was no longer really on fighting as an amateur for Uzbekistan.
He’s fought three times since then, and against pretty low-level opposition in Kazakhstan, Russia, and the United Kingdom. He hasn’t faced anyone near what you’d call a contender, and some fans and pundits have felt he’s looked like he’s stagnating in his development, if “development” is even what you’d call it for someone who’s in his 30s now.
They say iron sharpens iron, but Jalolov has been trying to sharpen iron on rubber.
He does have real talent, and even considering the shallowness of his pro record, it would be a lie to say we haven’t seen worse, less-skilled, less-qualified fighters in world title fights even within the last month or so, so I don’t think we could or should class Jalolov’s potential appointment to an IBF title fight as some sort of stain on boxing’s sterling reputation.
But it could be the fight where the amateur great finds out what the higher levels of the pro game are all about. Or he could take it seriously and show what made him such a dominant Olympic champion.
We could also be spending time on nothing here. There’s no guarantee yet that Jalolov will accept an order to fight Sanchez, should one eventually come. Nobody can force him. It’s up to him, and given how little genuine ambition he’s shown as a pro, it’s worth considering that he might pass.