2021 Olympic silver medalist Richard Torrez Jr. stepped up to 10-rounders for the first time in his young career and worked hard for a unanimous decision win over Italy’s Guido Vianello on Saturday night at the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas. The heavyweight contest headlined the Top Rank card televised on ESPN Plus.
Torrez Jr. got the nod by scores of 98-91, 97-92 and 97-92, but took a good deal of criticism for the awkward fight that was not pretty to watch. The heavyweights got tangled up numerous times and Vianello had a point deducted for holding in round two after several warnings. At the time of the point deduction, it looked like Torrez Jr.’s aggressive style was going to be a huge problem for Vianello, but over the middle rounds, the Tulare, CA native faced steady adversity for the first time as a pro.
Richard Torrez Jr. came into his first main event at 12-0 with 11 KOs and had mostly run over lesser competition with his all-action attack. But Vianello was a clear step up for the new American hero.
Guido Vianello, a 2016 Olympian himself, entered the ring with a record of 13-2-1 with 11 KOs. Just as importantly, at 6′ 6″, the Italian looked a lot more like the top of the division, in physical stature anyway. His only pro loss coming in was to top-10 contender Efe Ajagba by split decision last year.
So, Torrez Jr. was challenged to step up came away with a comfortable win on the scorecards. The aesthetics drew social media catcalls and the question has to be asked: what does the 25-year old need to do to climb the heavyweight mountain?
It’s a great time to jump into the heavyweight mix as many of the division’s big names are either long in the tooth or, quite honestly, limited in skill. The United States is clamoring for a champion in this glamour division and being an Olympic star is a great place to start.
Richard Torrez Jr. checks many of the boxes that a young heavyweight is measured by. But the bull-rush offense was exposed by Vianello as the taller, heavier fighter diagnosed the flaws and took advantage with some right-hand hammers to the exposed head coming in. The added rounds also showed that Torrez Jr. probably needs to dial it down a bit and plan for the long haul as he appeared to be gassed at points in the second half of the fight.
All reasonable points to be made visible at this stage of any fighter’s career, and not at all impossible to overcome.
How likely is it that Richard Torrez Jr. will improve on his weaknesses and make the climb to the heavyweight elite? This depends on the training and guidance he gets. This was one step up the ladder and he came away with a win. Let’s see how he looks next time out and against what style he is confronted with. He definitely has the drive and the athletic ability to develop into a great fighter.
