Undefeated Cuban heavyweight contender Frank Sanchez is showing that he has a gift of gab as much as a jab. 

After a milquetoast one-sided unanimous decision victory over Christian Hammer – a fight in which the battle-tested German tied a record for landing the fewest punches (24) in a 10-round fight – Sanchez is taking more serious shots at the heavyweight mountain top and its two kingpins. 

“I want the best opponents right now, the top five, in Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk,” Sanchez told ESNews through a translator. “I'll knock out Fury easily. He has no boxing skills. Usyk is even easier. He has movement but he doesn't have the technique that I have.”

Although the 29-year-old Sanchez (20-0, 13 KOs) is ranked No. 5 by both the WBO and WBC and is backed by trainer Eddy Reynoso, stablemate Canelo Alaverez and powerful advisor Lupe Valencia, he’s seemingly still several fights away from facing champions like Usyk and Fury.

Sanchez surely has talent and can seemingly be a boogeyman for anyone in the division, as evidenced in his fight before Hammer when he dropped and decisioned the ascending Efe Ajagba. But Sanchez hasn’t yet found the in-ring flair and pizazz required to move the needle in the sport's glamour division for his shot to become the first Cuban to win a heavyweight title. 

Sanchez is currently tied Al Haymon’s Premier Boxing Champions. He could be presented with a mix of opponents including Andy Ruiz, Luis Ortiz and Robert Helanius, or a pack of fighters who are coming off losses, like Deontay Wilder, Adam Kownacki, Chris Arreola, Charles Martin, Dominic Breazeale and Gerald Washington.

Sanchez said Reynoso and Alvarez, who was sitting ringside with his wife and team for the New Year’s Day fight in Miami, were both pleased with his performance against Hammer.

“[Reynoso and Alvarez] were happy with me after the fight,” said Sanchez. “Everything came out the way they wanted it to come out. Everything we worked on in the gym showed. I had a lot of technique for him. That's why he couldn't catch me. I hit him in the body and hurt him. Everything came out great.”

Manouk Akopyan is a sports journalist, writer and broadcast reporter. He’s also a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America and MMA Journalists Association. He can be reached on Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn and YouTube at @ManoukAkopyan, via email at manouk[dot]akopyan[at]gmail.com or on www.ManoukAkopyan.com