Filip Hrgovic’s next fight is moving toward a mandatory defense against Frank Sanchez, leaving the IBF heavyweight champion facing a difficult opponent without the payday he had hoped to secure against Daniel Dubois or the Anthony Joshua–Tyson Fury winner.

Mike Coppinger reports that Hrgovic and Sanchez are in advanced talks for a fight in Croatia during the first quarter of 2027. A date and venue have yet to be announced.

Hrgovic won the vacant IBF belt by stopping Moses Itauma, but Sanchez brings a different test. The Cuban is more likely to make Hrgovic work for openings than give him a stationary target for his right hand.

That could make this an awkward homecoming. Hrgovic will have the crowd expecting him to take charge, while Sanchez has reason to slow the action, move and force the champion to keep finding him. Hrgovic would need to apply pressure without spending rounds following the challenger around the ring.

Sanchez previously accepted a step-aside agreement that allowed Hrgovic’s title fight against Itauma to proceed. His opportunity now appears closer, with the two camps discussing a fight that would settle the champion’s mandatory obligation.

For Hrgovic, the danger is looking beyond the opponent directly in front of him. Dubois remains an obvious target because of their previous fight, which handed the Croatian his only professional defeat. Getting another chance at Dubois would offer Hrgovic something a routine title defense cannot: an opportunity to reverse that result.

Sanchez has his own reason to interrupt those plans. A victory in Croatia would give him the IBF belt and put him into the unification discussions Hrgovic wants to pursue.

The homecoming would belong to Hrgovic. Whether he leaves with the same options he brought into the fight would depend on getting past Sanchez first.

Hrgovic absorbed heavy punishment from Itauma before the youngster ran out of gas in the second half of the fight. Sanchez does not carry that flaw. He is a seasoned Cuban amateur with hundreds of rounds in the bank, excellent pacing, and no inclination to sprint early or blow his engine looking for an early knockout.

Stylistically, Sanchez is built to give Hrgovic nightmares. Hrgovic thrives against heavyweights who plant their feet and let him set up his straight right hands. Sanchez will not stand there. He circles, counters, keeps the tempo slow, and relies on slick upper-body movement.

If Hrgovic approaches this the way he did against Dubois or in the early rounds with Itauma, he risks getting picked apart from the outside while walking into sharp counter hooks. The business side makes it even worse.

A stadium fight in Croatia against Sanchez will not generate the massive purse or international buzz of a Dubois rematch or a major Riyadh Season headliner. Yet a loss completely derails Hrgovic, strips away his title, and hands all his leverage in the division straight to Sanchez.