Olympic Silver medallist and American heavyweight prospect Richard Torrez Jr had his biggest step up in competition last Saturday. Torrez took on fellow prospect Guido Vianello in the main event for a Top Rank card. Torrez as usual was the smaller man at 6’2 weighing in at 229lbs compared to the 6’6 242lb Vianello. Vianello had been on a run of good form recently losing a close fight to Nigerian fringe contender Efe Ajagba and finishing Russian prospect Arslanbek Makhmudov. For Torrez this has been his biggest test so far in the pros and he passed.
Torrez vs Vianello
Torrez would start off the fight fairly well for the first few rounds, acting as an awkward target for Vianello. He would do his usual rushes in land a few shots and get out. But what became apparent is this fight would involve a lot of clinching largely initiated by Vianello. Despite this Torrez was able to succeed in the first few rounds. Vianello was also deducted a point for his excessive holding.
However during the middle rounds Vianello started having fairly good success with his jab. Vianello was able to sting Torrez a few times most noticeably around the mid point with his jab and got a few right hands through. However, it became apparent Vianello would be unable to sustain his success.
Torrez in the final rounds was able to outwork and outland a tired Vianello finding success with the right hook regularly. He was also able to avoid the now tired Vianello’s punches with more ease, utilising his awkward head movement to get Vianello to punch across himself. Ultimately, the fight would go the distance, and Torrez would win by unanimous decision. The fight wasn’t the most entertaining to watch but neither was it the most boring and was an important step up for Torrez
What’s Next
Well, with this win, Richard Torrez Jr continues his unbeaten streak, advancing to 13-0 as well as collecting a few vacant belts. Torrez now holds the IBF North American title, North American Boxing Federation Title, and WBO NABO title. Essentially some regional/national level belts. Torrez could do with a few more fights this sort of level or a small step up as despite the wins there’s still a few flaws. He is still fairly prone to being caught while trying to rush on the inside and can sometimes smother his on work on the inside.
A good potential next fight could be against fellow prospect Jared Anderson who is 18-1 that sole loss being to Martin Bakole. Alternatively, an interesting fight could be his amateur rival Bakhodir Jalalov who beat Torrez twice in the amateurs. Their first fight saw Jalalov knock out Torrez in a round with a straight left and the second fight Jalalov won a close decision. In fact Torrez was able to hurt Jalalov in the first round of their 2nd fight. And now given that they’re both pros another fight could be suitable.
A small step could also be possible against a slightly higher journeyman such as Charles Martin or Jerry Forrest. A fight against Jermain Franklin could also work. There are many options for Torrez and given his age there is no need to rush to the big leagues. Whatever his next fight is it will be interesting to see how the career of Richard Torrez Jr continues.
Featured image credits to Embed from Getty Images
