Heavyweight contenders Frank Sanchez and Filip Hrgovic will find out who promotes their long‑talked‑about showdown when the IBF opens purse bids on May 15. Negotiations expired without a deal, so the fight for the federation’s number‑one spot and a mandatory shot at WBA/IBF champion Daniel Dubois now goes to the highest bidder. 
Watch Sanchez vs. Kabayel highlights: Watch
Hrgovic is coming off a ten‑round unanimous decision over Joe Joyce on April 5 in Manchester. The Croatian bronze medallist also flirted with replacing Jarrell Miller against Fabio Wardley on June 7, but when that fell through he refocused on the Sanchez bout.  
Sanchez suffered his first loss in May to Agit Kabayel but rebuilt confidence with a third‑round knockout of Ramon Olivas on February 22 in Tijuana. Under IBF rule 9c, neither man can take another fight while the eliminator is in play; pulling out would mean a six‑month rankings ban.  
The winner will leapfrog Derek Chisora to become the next mandatory challenger. Dubois defends his belts against undisputed champion Oleksandr Usyk on July 19 at Wembley; the new IBF number‑one will be in pole position once that dust settles. 
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