Via Allan Fox: Undefeated heavyweights Frank Sanchez (20-0, 13 KOs) kept his impeccable record and high standings with a unanimous decision win in the closing 10th round over his replacement Christian Hammer (26). -9, 16 KO) at Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino, in Hollywood, Florida.
(Image source: Ryan Hafey / Premier Boxing Champions)
The referees scored the fight 100-89, 100-89 and 100-89, all giving the 29-year-old Sanchez. Boxing News 24 also has it 100-89.
However, neither boxer landed more than a few punches, partly because Sanchez focused on moving and avoiding shots.
Frank shows off his Mayweather-esque skill
Sanchez’s defense is top-notch, but his attack is limited to single shots and varied stabs.
Unsurprisingly, the Hammers landed from just 24 punches to Sanchez’s 89. Hammer was only involved in 13% of his punches due to Sanchez backing off every time he threw. Sanchez even took a step back when Hammer fended off, and he appeared wary at all times against the power of the German-born boxer.
Sanchez, Canelo Alvarez’s stable teammate, mostly shoots in one Mayweather-esque style for the whole fight.
That kind of fight will win rounds, but it won’t be possible to score a knockout goal, especially when a boxer doesn’t have real strength like Sanchez. While Mayweather’s fans love his vote-not-safe approach to his fights, that admiration hasn’t turned to Frank Sanchez yet.
Fans were left spellbound by Sanchez’s fighting style last Saturday night, as he was heavily criticized on social media for “BORING” and too safe against his laner level opponent in Hammer.
Canelo: “No one can beat Frank Sanchez”
Interestingly, Canelo Alvarez was interviewed during the event, and he predicted that Sanchez would be the heavyweight champion within a year.
“In a year, he will win. No one can beat Frank Sanchez,“Canelo Alvarez said last Saturday night when interviewed by FOX.
It will take more than Canelo to talk about Sanchez’s ability for him to land a title and beat one of the champions like Oleksandr Usyk or Tyson Fury.
Sanchez’s painfully boring back-to-back fighting style will keep him from winning rounds against Usyk or Fury. At the sport’s higher levels, heavyweights are expected to stay grounded and fight to impress the judges and delight boxing fans.
What we saw last night and in many of Sanchez’s previous games was him taking single shots and then running away, circling the ring non-stop. It wasn’t fun to watch and not the kind of effort the Cuban boxer needed for him to get that paper.
Sanchez wants to become rich one day, but it will be difficult for him to do so with his elusive fighting style.
Again, Floyd Mayweather Jr. earned a lot of money fighting this way Sanchez showed last night, but that form is not appealing at the heavyweight level.
Fans want entertainment, and Mayweather’s boring, safety-first fighting style will never work in the heavyweight class.
If Canelo can use his fame in boxing pull some rope for Sanchez to get a title within the next 12 months, maybe he can be heavyweight champion within a year.
Sanchez is unlikely to be awarded the title soon
Unfortunately, the possibility of Sanchez being awarded a title within a year is so far-fetched that it’s not even worth speculating. His fighting style is very, very dull and reminiscent of past safety heavyweights like Chris Byrd and Jimmy Young.
For Sanchez to claim the title next year, he will need to play in qualifying and beat an outstanding heavyweight with power and ability.
Given the lack of punching prowess that Sanchez displayed last Saturday night against the Hammers, he will have his job cut if he faces someone who has some of their punches like Filip Hrgovic, Daniel Dubois, Andy Ruiz Jr. or Joe Joyce.
29-year-old Sanchez, born and raised in Guantanamo, Cuba, and now living in Miami, Florida, beat the 34-year-old Hammer in 10 rounds.
Sanchez is at a higher level than Hammer moving slowly, and he was able to knock him down with precise punches throughout the entire match. It wasn’t an entertaining contest, however, as Sanchez didn’t have many shots and moved quite a bit in the face of Hammer’s weak ability.
Hammer can’t land
Sanchez knocked out the Romanian-born Hammer in the tenth round, but it was a knock-down move that referee Samuel Burgos didn’t notice.
When Hammer got up, he looked at the referee incredulously and signaled to him that he wasn’t knocked down by a punch. However, the referee ruled the takedown legally, tarnishing Sanchez’s win.
Hammer marched forward all night, looking to knock Sanchez down, but he was unable to connect with many of his shots. When Hammer throws, Sanchez will lean back just enough for the punch to miss.
The only time Hammer was able to successfully connect to any degree was when he aimed for Sanchez’s body.
In terms of strength, Sanchez can’t show much. Hammer is the harder puncher of the two, but he didn’t throw enough. Sanchez’s punches to Hammer’s body annoyed him more than anything because he looked soft downstairs.
Had Sanchez’s work rate been much higher, he would have had a chance to get the Hammers out there, but he didn’t hit enough punches.
Frank is satisfied with his performance
“I feel very happy,“Sanchez said after the battle. “Starting the year off like this with another win over all the Cuban fans in Miami here is amazing.”
Sanchez entered the competition after beating big boxer Efe Ajagba by unanimous decision in the 10th round last October. It was a match of similar style as Sanchez used his counter-punching ability to knock Ajagba out, costing him every time he let go.
That fight is a bit more entertaining than last night’s showdown between Sanchez and Hammer because Ajagba is letting go of his hand trying to win. Hammer looks as if he’s just trying to survive in journeyman level fashion.
Sanchez is rated #5 WBO, #6 WBC, which leaves him in the vicinity of last being ordered to fight in a title elimination.
But again, it can be doubted that any of those two sanctioning bodies will order title removal with Sanchez and one of the other five highly ranked top contenders within the next 12 months.
As such, the only way Sanchez will get a world title next year is if one of the champions chooses to give him a voluntary shot.
Given the way Sanchez fights, that will likely never happen in his career. Sanches’ fighting style is completely wrong as he is awarded the title by any champion in an optional defense, and he is unpopular.
If Sanchez had Canelo’s popularity, he could have been awarded a title, but he is not and never will be, not with his dull fighting style.
Sanchez says he will beat Fury and Usyk
“The war, you’ve seen it, I hardly got hit, and everything went great,” Frank Sanchez told ESNEWS after the win over Hammer. “I had a lot of techniques for him [Hammer], and he couldn’t catch me.
“I hit him a few times in the body, and it hurt him, so he hugged,” Sanchez said of why Hammer kept pulling.
“And I want the best right now; The top five is what I want,” Sanchez said of who he wants to fight next. “I will knock him down. He has no boxing skills,” said Frank when asked what the outcome of his fight against WBC heavyweight champion Tyson Fury would be.
“Even easier,“Sanchez talks about his fight with IBF/WBA/WBO champion Oleksandr Usyk. “Usyk has the ability to move, but he is not as technical as me.
“They were happy with me after the battle and everything went the way they wanted and everything that they did in the gym came out,” Sanchez said when asked trainer Eddy Reynoso and his gym mate Canelo. that. Alvarez said after the win over Hammer.
“I’ve started the year well, and I’m going to win titles,” Sanchez said of his thoughts early 2022 on him. “Canelo is happy with what I’ve done and what I’m doing in the ring.”
