The power of heavyweight Richard Torrez Jr. was too much for fellow unbeaten Brandon Moore on Saturday night at Pechanga Arena. 

Torrez, the 2020 Olympic silver medalist, unleashed a series of devastating punches that Moore could not withstand as the bout was stopped in a fifth round at 1:39. The bout was halted when Moore’s corner threw the towel in after Moore had been dropped and reeled in the contest.

Torrez, now 10-0 with 10 knockouts, handed Moore, 14-1 (8 KOs) his first professional loss. The fight was part of a Top Rank card headlined by Mexico’s three-division titleholder Emanuel Navarrete, who was vying for the vacant WBO lightweight belt against Ukraine’s Denys Berinchyk. 

“Sometimes it feels like television, the only person I can hear in the corner is my dad (Richard Torrez Sr.). I am okay with that, sometimes that crowd can get ahead of you a little bit, but it is really nice to have the crowd [cheering]. In the Olympics, I didn’t have any, because of [COVID-19], being able to have the atmosphere is amazing.

“He took some really good shots and I commend him for that, but at the end of the day, you can only take so much. I am really thankful for my coaching and just my preparation.”

“I am not going to lie, (Oleksandr) Usyk is a role model of mine. I admire what he does, I admire the entire Ukrainian team to be honest with you. (Vasiliy) Lomachenko, Usyk, and what those guys do is insane and incredible. I try to match that a little bit with the Mexican style.

“You can’t let (your amateur background) go unnoticed. What I did in the Olympics, I have been on the United States team since 14 or 15 years old, I just want to give a big shout-out to the USA [boxing] team, who are going to their last-chance qualifier over in Thailand.

“We got this belt (regional title) going back to Cali to Central California to Tulare, California, I did it for you guys.”