America, is a nation that has produced many athletes and all-time greats and used to dominate heavyweight boxing.
Throughout the 60s, 70s, 80s, and even 90s the heavyweight landscape was dominated by Americans. Examples include Muhammad Ali, George Foreman, Joe Frazier, Mike Tyson, Evander Holyfield, Larry Holms the list goes on. The point is the USA had a firm grip on heavyweight boxing until the 2000s and their presence is becoming less and less felt. The only recent notable American heavyweights currently are former WBC champion Deontay Wilder, prospect Jared Anderson, and former contender Jarrell Miller. Wilder has seen better days and is on the verge of retirement, Miller is forever tainted by failing multiple drug tests, and Anderson’s commitment to boxing is questionable. However, there is a beacon of hope for American heavyweight boxing in the form of Richard Torrez Jr.
Torrez is a 25-year-old,6’2, 236lb, southpaw American heavyweight prospect who has shown prospect. He’s a highly decorated amateur and an Olympic silver medallist with a record of 50-8. He has also looked impressive in the professionals, boasting a record of 12-0, 11 of those wins coming by KO. What makes Torrez stand out is his athleticism and speed. He is able to get in and out and throw combinations at great speed mixing up his shots very well. Another unique feature of Torrez is how he’ll sometimes double up or even triple up on the same punch.
The Amateur Pedigree Of Torrez
Richard Torrez Jr has a very impressive amateur pedigree, particularly for a heavyweight. A lot of heavyweights won’t have particularly impressive amateur pedigrees at least compared to Eastern European heavyweights. However, Torrez’s record and achievements are very comparable and very impressive. Torrez amassed a record of 52-8 from 2010-2021 and achieved plenty in that time.
Even from early in his career, he was achieving winning the 2014 USA Junior National Championships, 2015 USA Junior National Championships, and 2015 USA Junior Olympics. His winning ways continued into 2016 where he won the 2016 USA Youth National Championships, 2016 US Youth Open Tournament, and 2016 AIBA Youth World Boxing Championships. All of these are very impressive particularly the AIBA with it being a global rather than domestic competition.
In 2017 he won the 2017 National Golden Gloves and 2017 USA National Championships. As seen he absolutely dominated on the national level and would continue to have success in 2018. He won the 2018 Chemistry Cup and the 2018 USA National Championship. In 2019 he would first encounter Bakhodir Jalalov who thus far has been the only man to KO Torrez and did so in round 2 with a straight left. In 2020 he would win the 2020 Box-Am Tournament.
Then came the Tokyo Olympics the biggest stage of Torrez’s career at that point and he did not disappoint. He beat decorated Cuban amateur Dainier Pero and highly decorated Kazakh amateur Kamshybek Kunkabayev. This brought him through to the final where again he would again face Jalalov. He would not get knocked out however lost a points decision winning himself an Olympic silver medal.
The Professionals
After all he achieved in the amateurs and following the Olympics Torrez would ultimately decide to turn professional and debuted in 2022. Unsurprisingly, he has made light work of his competition so far and has been very active. In 2022 he fought 4 times, 4 times in 2023, and 4 times in 2024 getting himself a lot of experience in the pros quickly. And gradually, he has been fighting better competition. He is also signed with Top Rank.
This year in particular he has stepped winning the vacant North American Boxing Federation Junior Heavy title against at the time undefeated Brandon Moore. Subsequently, he has defended that belt twice. His first defence was against Joey Dawejko an American journeyman meant to test Torrez. Torrez passed this test with flying colours beating up Dawjeko so bad he got himself disqualified by repeatedly spitting out his gumshield. Then most recently he defeated Isaac Gutierrez a Mexican heavyweight prospect. Gutierrez was game however Torrez was far too quick for him and got the TKO in round 3.
So far in the professionals, Torrez has impressed. His speed and athleticism are very impressive utilising it well to land combinations with great punch variety. The frequency of his fights and the rate he is being moved has also been very good gradually increasing the difficulty of his opponents. Hopefully, in 2025, he will continue to step up in the level of competition. What makes sense for him is how is fighting some fringe contenders such as Jermaine Franklin.
If he is able to have this level of success against better opposition, then Torrez could go somewhere. He has the potential to be a future contender or champion. We shall see what 2025 has to offer for the USA’s best heavyweight prospect Richard Torrez Jr.
Featured image credits to Embed from Getty Images
