Richard Torrez Jr. and Frank Sanchez are set to clash inside the ring on Saturday night. But before the opening bell even sounds, Torrez’s trainer, Brian ‘BoMac’ McIntyre, the renowned coach who also trained former three-division undisputed champion Terence Crawford, appears to have sparked a fight of his own backstage.

The pair will square off in an IBF heavyweight title eliminator fight on the undercard of Oleksandr Usyk and Rico Verhoeven at the Pyramids of Giza. As is customary, coaches from both camps inspected their opponents’ hand wraps to ensure everything was legitimate. Not to say Sanchez’s team had done anything wrong, BoMac was clearly unhappy with what he saw.

“Richard Torrez trainer BoMac is NOT HAPPY with Frank Sanchez’s hand wraps backstage 🍿,” Matchroom Boxing wrote on X.

They also shared a clip from backstage of the moment BoMac raised his concerns over Sanchez’s hand wraps. He appeared to have had an issue with the placement of the padding. 

“The knuckles right here. Look. Just look. Knuckles right here,” BoMac can be heard saying, pointing at Sanchez’s padding on the wraps. “That’s where the padding’s at.”

The clip also showed a female official inspecting and marking Sanchez’s hand wraps, though it remains unclear whether any changes were ultimately made to address BoMac’s concerns.

Torrez is an undefeated heavyweight prospect signed to Top Rank. He is coming off a first-round knockout victory over Tomas Salek in November of last year. Frank Sanchez, meanwhile, rebounded from the only loss of his professional career, a defeat to Agit Kabayel in 2024, with a third-round knockout win over Ramon Olivas Echeverria in February last year.

Despite the snafu, the fight is expected to move forward, and Frank Sanchez believes he will be the one to get his hand raised. 

Frank Sanchez wants to get back where he belongs

The Cuban heavyweight believes he still belongs among the heavyweight elite. And he plans to prove it against Torrez Jr. on Saturday night.

Sanchez has already managed to bounce back from his sole loss. But he knows all too well that a victory over Torrez would carry far more significance for his career.

“I just want to get back to where I belong,” Sanchez said during Thursday’s press conference. “Get back to my spot and be the first Cuban heavyweight champion.”

Despite Sanchez’s confidence, Torrez Jr. enters as a strong betting favorite following victories over Guido Vianello and Tomas Salek in 2025. Still, Sanchez dismissed any trash talk ahead of the fight.

“He’s a great boxer,” Sanchez said. “But I’m the more technical boxer, and I will show that on Saturday.”

With friction backstage, the fight is already off to a heated start. But will that carry over to the boxing ring? Who do you think will win?