WITH Tyson Fury retiring – at least, in theory – and Oleksandr Usyk remaining just months away from creeping into his 40s, boxing’s red ribbon division is surely crying out for its next bona fide star.
That is not to say that the heavyweight landscape, with the likes of Daniel Dubois, Joseph Parker and Agit Kabayel all parading its grounds, is not as fertile as ever.
But still, with seemingly every fan holding their breath in anticipation of who Anthony Joshua fights next and, worse yet, how Deontay Wilder will look in his upcoming outing, there is nonetheless a sense that, after years of the same characters and storylines, the land of the giants has become somewhat repetitive.
Richard Torrez Jr, though, is a fighter who could, if nothing else, shake things up a little.
Entering his first acid test as a professional, the 25-year-old will take on sturdy contender Guido Vianello at the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas, Nevada, this Saturday.
It is a fight, of course, that Torrez, 12-0 (11 KOs), could quite easily lose. Vianello has, after all, mixed it at a much higher level, with his last performance – an eighth-round stoppage victory over Arslanbek Makhmudov – following a razor-thin split decision defeat to Efe Ajagba.
But unlike his next opponent, Torrez does not fight like a conventional modern-day heavyweight.
Rather, the Olympic silver medallist utilises his speed and dynamic footwork to compensate for a lack of size, much like a selection of heavyweight greats from previous eras.
Outside the ring, too, Torrez remains deeply compelling. His activity on social media, for instance, provides fans with a brief but pure insight into his engaging personality.
Just last week, the American joked that Top Rank, his promoter, threatened to remove money from his purse unless he promoted this Saturday’s show.
Then, while recording his grainy footage on a flip phone, Torrez took to Instagram and encouraged fans to buy tickets for his fight, more so because he wants to afford a new phone.
But while, at times, he likes to play the class clown, the southpaw has equally proven to be both tenacious and ruthless in the ring.
With a decorated amateur career behind him, he has already shone brightly in the professional ranks, his compact frame generating enough power to end each fight at any given moment.
And so, should he get past Vianello over the weekend, it would seem that Torrez could possess both the charisma and ability that is needed to become a heavyweight world champion.
