Tulare boxer Richard Torrez makes his Olympic debut in Tokyo
It was an Olympics boxing debut to remember for Richard Torrez Jr.
The Tulare native picked up a unanimous decision win over Algeria’s Chouaib Bouloudinats in the super heavyweight bout in Tokyo on Thursday.
Torrez is the first Amerian super heavyweight to reach the quarterfinals since Jason Estrada in 2004.
“The guy was no joke,” Torrez said. “Everyone is an Olympian, but looking forward I know it will be a tough competition, and I want to be extremely prepared. I want to do my best performance every time.”
Torrez will next face Cuban Dainier Pero in a rematch of the 2019 Pan American Games semifinals, won by Pero in a 3-2 decision.
Torrez took care of business Thursday when he faced Bouloudinats.
He landed a body shot that dropped Bouloudinats in the first round and Torrez led every round as the five judges scored the fight in favor of the Mission Oak High graduate.
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Before his Olympics debut, Torrez Jr. received some advice from his father.
“Oh, man, I’ve had to wait almost a week to get my first fight and everyone on the (U.S.) men’s side of the tournament won their first fight,” he said. “I was sitting there, sitting there calling my dad, saying, ‘What am I going to do?’ and my dad was saying, ‘Don’t worry, you’re going to win, too, all you’ve got to do is go out there and perform.’ That’s what I did.”
This story was originally published July 29, 2021 at 10:09 AM.
