The points victory over Italy’s Guido Vianello has exponentially increased the self-confidence of American heavyweight Richard Torrez Jr, who now feels ready to step into the ring with a big name. The hard-hitting southpaw wouldn’t back down even from the prospect of facing British rising star Moses Itauma.
Torrez has an excellent amateur career behind him, culminating in the silver medal at the Tokyo Olympics. In that tournament, the American was defeated only in the final by the highly decorated Uzbek boxer Bakhodir Jalolov, against whom he still managed to produce a competitive match.
As a professional, the Californian has so far put together a spotless record of 13 consecutive wins, 11 of which came inside the distance. The most notable name among the opponents beaten by Torrez is Vianello, whom he clearly outpointed on April 5 of this year.
On that occasion, Guido struggled to deal with the physical intensity of his rival, who proved effective at slipping his long shots and constantly imposing the clinch.
Torrez will return to the ring tonight in Mexico, where he will face the modest Czech fighter Tomas Salek. The American, however, is already looking ahead and says he is ready for the step up. These were Torrez’s words to Boxing Scene:
“I am super-confident in my abilities, and I know I’m here for a reason. I’m an Olympic medalist. I’ve kind of shown my stripes a little bit, and I’m ready to show the world that I’m ready to be a name – a boxing name, a household name – and I think within the next year or so, I’ll be able to do so.
“One of the guys I’ve been kind of trying to throw my hat in the ring for is Moses Ituama. I think that he has been showing and proving himself in and out of the ring.
“I’m a smaller lefty that throws a lot and is in shape and conditioned. I think that that’d be a great fight. … Two English-speaking guys, we could cross the pond and make some pretty big headlines in any country we go to. That would be something I’m really looking forward to.”