By Ian S Palmer
Unbeaten heavyweight prospect Frank Sanchez of Cuba will be taking on veteran Christian Hammer of Romania in a 10-round tilt this Saturday, January 1st. The fight from Hollywood, Florida can be seen live on Fox pay-per-view in North America. Sanchez last fought in October when he beat Efe Ajagba by 10-round unanimous decision to defend his WBC Continental Americas and WBO NABO Heavyweight titles while Hammer last saw action in October when he was stopped after five rounds by Hughie Fury due to a bicep injury. Sanchez was originally supposed to fight Carlos Negron this weekend but he had to pull out after testing positive for Covid 19.
The 29-year-old Sanchez boasts a perfect record of 19-0 with 13 Kos. He’s got 79 rounds worth of experience under his belt since making his pro debut in 2017. He enjoyed a fine amateur career as he won the 2008 Cuban National School Games at 165 lbs and finished third at the Cuban National Championships from 2011 to 2014. He then fought in the World Series of Boxing in 2016.
Sanchez, who fights out of Miami, Florida, stands 6-feet-4-inches tall with a 78-inch wingspan and possesses better-than-average power with a current knockout ratio of 65 per cent but three of his last six fights have gone the distance. His biggest wins so far have been against Ajagba, Nagy Aguilera, Brian Howard, Joey Dawejko and Julian Fernandez. Sanchez can explode suddenly with power punches after appearing to lull his opponents to sleep.
The 34-year-old Hammer fights out of Germany and climbs through the ropes with a record of 26-8 with 16 Ko’s. He owns average power in his fists with a current knockout ratio of 47.1 per cent in his 196 rounds boxed since making his pro debut in 2008. He stands just over 6-feet-2-inches tall with a 78-inch reach so gives up 1.5-inches in height to Sanchez with the same reach.
Hammer has faced some pretty good opposition over the years by taking on the likes of Tyson Fury and his cousin Hughie fury as well as Luis Ortiz, Alexander Povetkin, Tony Yoka, David Price, Kevin Johnson, Danny Williams, Michael Sprott, Sherman Williams, Michael Wallisch and Mariusz Wach. He’s lost just five of his last 24 fights but has dropped four of his past eight.
His first defeat since 2011 was to Tyson Fury in February, 2015 when the contest was halted at the end of the eighth round and he dropped a unanimous decision to Povetkin in Dec, 2017. His other career losses came against Wach by sixth-round KO in 2010, Taras Bidenko by sixth-round majority decision in 2010, a 10-round unanimous decision to Ortiz in 2019, by first-round stoppage to Robert Gregor in his pro debut back in 2008 and a 10-round unanimous decision to Yoka last November.
Since he’s been stopped in four of his eight defeats and has been dropped several other times it’s reasonable to state he owns a questionable chin. Still, Hammer’s a solid European-level boxer and former German and WBO Heavyweight European Champion with plenty of experience and could be somewhat underrated, but will need to be at his very best to beat Sanchez.
Prediction…
Sanchez seems to have all the tools to become a legitimate heavyweight contender but doesn’t always use them often enough during a fight. He can bore you to tears for several rounds and then explode with a power punch or two and his opponents always need to be wary of this. Hammer needs to stay busy each round but his questionable chin will be a problem. Hammer has a puncher’s chance here but I highly doubt he’s going to leave the ring with a win. I’m expecting Sanchez to remain unbeaten on Saturday night.
