Richard Torrez Jr. returned to his knockout ways Saturday, halting Tomas Salek in the opening round of their heavyweight bout.
The 2020 Olympic silver medalist scored his quickest victory in nearly two years, stopping Czech Republic’s Salek at 2 minutes, 45 seconds of the first round in a preliminary bout on ESPN Knockout/Top Rank Classics FAST channel from Arena Coliseo.
The big picture: Torrez, 26, improved to 14-0 with 12 knockouts. The southpaw from Tulare, California, dominated from the start, landing power shots with alarming frequency.
- His sweeping right hook inflicted the most damage, drawing blood from Salek’s nose. Following a ringside doctor’s examination and Salek’s discomfort, the fight was stopped.
- Salek, 23-8 with 14 knockouts, struggled to find his offense in what many experts viewed as a mismatch. This was Salek’s first fight outside Europe and marked his third loss in his last four bouts.
- Torrez registered his first stoppage win since December 7 and his shortest fight since knocking out Donald Haynesworth in 139 seconds last December.
- Saturday’s bout came eight months after Torrez went the distance in a unanimous decision win over Italy’s Guido Vianello in Las Vegas.
What he’s saying: “The quick result was because our camp went well,” Torrez said in a statement to The Sun. “We love to give the people a good show. I’m thankful that we had a good camp. A win is a win, and we’ll be back in the gym tomorrow.”
