FRESNO, California – Heavyweight Richard Torrez Jnr is looking to prove that nice guys don’t finish last.
Torrez Jnr headlined his first card in April, defeating Guido Vianello via a unanimous decision.
Torrez Jnr, 13-0 (11 KOs), is a 2020 US Olympic silver medalist. He was the best amateur in the super heavyweight division for a generation in the United States. Now, the 26-year-old Torrez from Tulare, California, has stopped the talk of being an undersized heavyweight at 6ft 2ins. Some people think he is too nice. When asked if he is underestimated for being nice, he told BoxingScene, “I think so. Some people take my kindness for weakness. It makes it that much sweeter when you get the victory.”
“They try to paint him as a nice guy, who doesn’t have the killer instinct,” Richard Torrez Snr, his father and trainer, told BoxingScene. “He has the finisher instinct. He is a guy who wants to fight. He is a Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, put him in the ring and he turns into Mr. Hyde.”
Torrez has an 84 per cent knockout ratio as a professional and was a knockout puncher as an amateur. He stopped Kamshybek Kunkabayev in the semi-finals of the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo. Yet Torrez isn’t one for pre-fight trash-talk. In an era in which many live and die for braggadocious content to be shared on social media, Torrez explained that he doesn’t mind being thoughtful and deliberate.
“Whenever someone says ‘Richard wasn’t this or Richard wasn’t that’ and I beat them, or knock them out, they have to live with that and what they said as well,” Torrez Jnr explained. “Eventually, the hands do the talking, and I am okay with that.”
Torrez turned professional with Top Rank Inc., which has continued to promote him since his professional debut. He noted that his promoter is known for building stars. That was key for why he signed with them, and that he is listening to them in terms of the direction of his career.
“I signed with Top Rank for a reason, and one of the reasons is the matchmaking,” Torrez Jnr said. “They have built legends, and I want to be a part of that legacy.”
“We are working for the championship,” Torrez Snr said. “We are working hard, talking to Top Rank a lot.”
A speculated return could see Torrez Jnr back in action this September. Torrez is now rated No.7 by the IBF, No. 9 by the WBC, and No.13 by the WBO. The victory over Vianello, 13-3-1 (11 KOs), cemented his status as a contender.
“It showed me that I am supposed to be at this level,” Torrez Jnr said. “I trust my abilities, I am super excited for what the future has in store for me.”
