Richard Torrez Jr. Plays Matador To Beat Guido Vianello

It wasn’t pretty in the early going, but Richard Torrez Jr. of Tulare, California (13-0, 11 KOs) and Guido “The Gladiator” Vianello of Italy (13-3-1, 11 KOs) delivered an entertaining heavyweight scrap after ten rounds for the fans at the Palms Casino in Las Vegas in Top Rank Boxing‘s main event Saturday.

Despite a significant size advantage for Vianello, Torrez Jr. used his size and stamina to outwork Vianello, winning a unanimous decision and going ten rounds for the first time. Scores were 98-91, 98-91, and 97-92.

Richard Torrez Jr. proved critics who say he’s too small to be competitive at heavyweight wrong Saturday. Photo: Mikey Williams, Top Rank Boxing

“Not bad for a little guy,” said Torrez Jr. of his victory. “Tulare’s a small town, and sends a small guy, but we represent, right?”

Torrez Jr. Works Inside

Torrez Jr. is an atypical twitchy heavyweight. At 6-foot-2 in the land of super heavyweights like Vianello, he knows he can’t walk straight forward. Instead, Torrez Jr. uses a pawing jab and feints to move inside on big men.

It works well for Torrez Jr. against his opposition so far, but Vianello is a formidable fighter. In early going, Vianello tried to make things rough for Torrez Jr., bullying him as he moved inside where he likes to do business. Referee Thomas Taylor was in for a long night. He warned Vianello early and often about clinching, and took a point in the second round, telling him, “Pick it up!”

When Guido Vianello could extend his power punches, he had success. Photo: Mikey Williams, Top Rank Boxing

Torrez Jr.’s speed worked to catch most, though not all, of Vianello’s power punches. Torrez Jr. has to rely on his stamina and conditioning as the smaller man. In going ten rounds, he emptied the tank against Vianello. The Italian sometimes looked weary, but he made Torrez Jr. work through the final bell.

“I was really trying to get my feints set up,” explained Torrez Jr. “That body shot started working, started landing a little more and more. From there, my other shots started landing like the hooks and the backhands, and it was just the plan that we had.”

Once the fight progressed into the middle rounds, the ugly clinching and roughhousing turned the corner into a fun action fight.

Torrez Jr. Controls the Distance, Gets the Victory

The right hook worked for Richard Torrez Jr. all night long. Photo: Mikey Williams, Top Rank Boxing

Torrez Jr. found his right hook over the top working for him. He controlled distance better than Vianello and shook him up in the fifth round. He forced Vianello to pick up the pace, and he had some success while Torrez Jr. continued to catch many shots with counter hooks from right and left.

Torrez Jr.’s trainer and father, Richard Sr., advised his son to avoid lunging and falling in, as Vianello found ways to use his size. By forcing himself in close, Torrez Jr. did a good job of denying Vianello the proper distance to land his most brutal power punches.

In the eighth round, the fight momentum shifted as Torrez started to open up. The right hooks were handed more frequently as Vianello leaned in. Then Torrez Jr. nailed Vianello with a hard left hook, the best punch of the fight. With just 22 seconds left in the round, Torrez tried but couldn’t capitalize as Vianello barely made it to his corner.

Through the final two rounds, Vianello would need something big to bring the victory back his way. Vianello was damaged but still dangerous. Torrez Jr. avoided his worst. An accidental headbutt caused a cut over Torrez Jr.’s right eye. It gave Vianello a target, but he couldn’t do much damage as Torrez Jr. danced out of the way and evaded Vianello’s wild swings.

Torrez Jr. held off Vianello’s slowed-down punches with hooks and punctuated the final round with a solid body shot to take the fight to the final bell.

“He’s an Olympian. I never gave Guido any slack. I gave him all the credit. He’s a great fighter from Italy, number one in his country. You know, I have nothing but respect for him,” said Torrez Jr.

Torrez Jr. Makes The Most of His Tools

Guido Vianello threw and missed as Richard Torrez Jr. evaded shots. Photo: Mikey Williams, Top Rank Boxing

Torrez Jr. knows his size causes doubts, including himself. “I was talking to some of the sports psychologists a little bit, and they said sometimes, that’s what motivates you as well. So my shortcomings sometimes, and my doubts, they push me and make me work hard in the ring and in the gym,” explained Torrez Jr.

Whether Torrez Jr. can compete with the top heavyweight talents is still questioned. What isn’t in doubt is his determination and work ethic to maximize the tools he’s got. He’s earned the right to take his best shot, and he emphasized that he trusts his team at Top Rank and will fight anyone they put in front of him.

“I want to work on keeping my feet under me. They only get bigger and they get stronger,” said Torrez Jr. “I’m looking for that, and I’m just following my coach’s advice.”

Torrez Sr. gave his son high marks Saturday. “He proved the critics wrong. He can go ten rounds at a good pace. He adapted, he came back and he did exactly what we told him to do in the corner.”

Delgado Gets Narrow Majority Decision Over Rodriguez

Lindolfo Delgado survived a serious challenge from Elvis Rodriguez. Photo: Mikey Williams, Top Rank Boxing

Undefeated Mexican Olympian Lindolfo Delgado (23-0, 16 KOs) squeaked past Elvis Rodriguez of the Dominican Republic (17-4-1, 13 KOs) in a narrow majority decision to win their WBC/IBF world title eliminator.

Scorecards were 96-94, 96-94 for Delgado, with the third card even at 95-95.

Both men knew a win would offer a significant step forward. The stakes and the mutual respect for each other’s power caused the first three rounds to be a tactical, careful fight as both looked for their best openings.

Elvis Rodriguez heated up in the fight’s second half, but couldn’t win the final round. Photo: Mikey Williams, Top Rank Boxing

Delgado stepped up the pressure through the middle rounds, but neither man pulled away from the other. They were classic swing rounds.

In the ninth round, Rodriguez caught Delgado being inattentive to his defense, catching him with a jab and nailing him with a straight left, putting him on shaky legs. Delgado was fortunate to avoid going down. Rodriguez didn’t have much of the round to work with, but he brought what offense he could. Delgado survived the round but was damaged.

Trainer Robert Garcia told Delgado, “You’ve got to win this round.” Delgado bit down and forced Rodriguez back, losing steam from his effort to try and stop Delgado in the ninth.

Should a knockdown have been called here in favor of Elvis Rodriguez when Lindolfo Delgado bounced into the ropes from a punch? Photo: Mikey Williams, Top Rank Boxing

The judges might have called a knockdown in the ninth round. Delgado bounced off the ropes. Were they holding him up? But it was just another 10-9 round for Rodriguez. He lost the final round on the cards and lost the fight.

Rodriguez, trained by Hall of Famer Freddie Roach, has been the “next big thing” on the verge of a breakthrough for several years, and fought his way back after a loss to Kenneth Sims Jr. in 2021. He will need to rebuild once again.

Abdullah Mason Gets Fifth Round TKO Over Ornelas

Abdullah Mason celebrated his 21st birthday with another stoppage victory Saturday. Photo: Mikey Williams, Top Rank Boxing

Lightweight sensation Abdullah Mason of Cleveland (17-0, 15 KOs) celebrated his 21st birthday with a fifth-round TKO win against Mexican southpaw Carlos “Chinito” Ornelas of Mexico (28-5, 15 KOs) in Mason’s first 10-round bout.

Mason only needed half of those ten rounds, scoring three successive knockdowns on left hooks in the second, third, and fifth rounds, causing the veteran Ornelas to take a knee each time to avoid more incoming fire while he was buzzed.

Carlos Ornelas took a knee in three different rounds after Abdullah Mason landed a hard left hook to avoid more damage. Photo: Mikey Williams, Top Rank Boxing

A cut suffered by Ornelas and the damage being done set up a discussion in the corner. Ornelas’ trainer said he would give him one more round, but the ringside physician overruled them and asked referee Raul Caiz Jr. to stop the bout.

Mason said, “Every fighter has something coming with him. I felt myself loading up a little bit, trying to get him outta there early. You still gotta be smart in there, break them down instead of looking for the perfect shot,” adding he finally caught him with the punches that caused the stoppage.

“There’s always room for improvement, but I felt I did great. I got him out of there in the fifth round, and we’re onto the next. We’ll be back real soon,” said Mason. “I got these small titles right here, and we’re going to trade these in for the big ones.

Results From The Undercard

Albert “Chop Chop” Gonzalez had the upper hand against Dana Coolwell. Photo: Mikey Williams, Top Rank Boxing

Featherweight Albert “Chop Chop” Gonzalez of Moreno Valley, California (13-0, 7 KOs) shut down Dana Coolwell of Queensland, Australia (13-4, 8 KOs) with a solid effort in a competitive fight. Scores were 80-72, 78-74, and 77-75.

Coolwell gave Bruce “Shu Shu” Carrington a good fight on the Jake Paul vs. Mike Tyson undercard, which brought him to his first Las Vegas fight for another solid test of Gonzalez.

Super flyweight Steven Navarro is flying high after another knockout win. Photo: Mikey Williams, Top Rank Boxing

Top Rank is high on super flyweight prospect Steven Navarro of Los Angeles (6-0, 5 KOs), and he didn’t disappoint by adding another knockout win over Juan Esteban Garcia of Mexicali, Mexico (14-2-2, 11 KOs). Navarro needed just four rounds in his first eight-round fight to deliver power shots to the body and head, forcing a referee stoppage at 2:45 of round four.

Art Barrera Jr. took it to Daijohn Gonzalez in two rounds. Photo: Mikey Williams, Top Rank Boxing

Super welterweight Art Barrera Jr. of Paramount, California (8-0, 6 KOs) remains undefeated with a second-round TKO stoppage over Daijohn Gonzalez of Davenport, Iowa (12-6, 6 KOs) in an impressive performance.

Gonzalez, Navarro, and Barrera Jr. are all trained by Robert Garcia at the RGBA Academy in Moreno Valley.

Middleweight Jahi Tucker took it to Troy Williamson to get his stoppage win. Photo: Mikey Williams, Top Rank Boxing

Middleweight prospect Jahi Tucker of New York (14-1-1, 7 KOs) drilled Troy Williamson of Darlington, England (20-4-1, 14 KOs) for a knockdown en route to a blowout 99-89 X 3 decision over the former British champion.