Olympic medalist boxer Richard Torrez Jr. leaning towards turning pro
A second shot at an Olympic gold medal is very unlikely in the future for Richard Torrez Jr., the Tokyo 2020 super heavyweight boxing silver medalist who has already been in talks that could lead to a professional debut within six months.
That means Paris 2024 is not in his plans.
“I’ve been in the amateur division for a little over well, all my entire life. But I’ve been in the lead amateur division for a little over five years,” said Torrez, who won his medal on Aug. 8. “And I think it might be time, it might be time for me to turn pro and throw my hat in the ring in that area.”
The Mission Oak High grad said he doesn’t know if for the 2024 Olympics professional boxers would be allowed to compete or not, “but I do know that if I were to turn pro, I would not want to be a pro in the Olympics.”
“I don’t have anything against pros in the Olympics. But I wanted to go and win the Olympics as an amateur and then move on to pro,” said the 22-year-old Olympian boxer.
Torrez Jr., said that in the amateur division he could fight five times in five days in four or five tournaments in a year.
“So, you fight about 25 times a year and it’s a lot of wear and tear on your body, especially when you fight the best in the world, you know, month after month,” the Tulare native said. “So, I do think that almost the responsible thing for me to do in this time my career would be to turn pro.”
Torrez Jr. said his father Richard Torrez Sr. has been the backbone of his career.
“I wouldn’t be boxing if I didn’t know my dad would be in the ring with me or I didn’t know my dad would be in the corner. And so, yeah, he’s definitely a big influence on my decision. But ultimately it is my decision,” said Torrez Jr., adding that his father has made very clear to him that whatever he wants to do his father would back 100 percent. “And I’m really thankful to have him in my entire family in my corner.”
Torrez Jr. said they are still talking to a lot of managers, promoters and making a game plan for when they will go pro.
“But definitely within the next year, within the next six months, I will be making my professional debut,” he said.
The Olympic experience
Coming home, Torrez Jr. is definitely feeling the support of the community behind him.
After being away for about 2½ months, Torrez Jr. is happy to be home and be able to “relax for a little bit,” taking everything in but at the same time he has been so busy.
“You know, there’s a lot of people that want to be able to meet with me and talk to me, and I want to be able to talk to them as well,” said Torrez Jr., who was scheduled to go to his high school on Aug. 19 for a pep rally and an Aug. 21 “Welcome Home Celebration.” “And I’m just so thankful and proud to be able to be a part of that.”
Torrez Jr. said he remembers being about 8 years old, running around in the playground saying he wanted to be am Olympic champion one day.
“You know, it’s been something that my dad talked about, something my grandpa has talked about. It’s been in the family for generations, the dream to go to the Olympics and for me to make that dream come true. It was amazing.” Torrez Jr. said.
When asked what he would say to his 8-year-old self now that he is back from the Olympics, Torrez Jr. said, “I might tell him sorry, because we didn’t get the gold, but, you know, we went out there and we gave it our best shot. And we can be proud of the job we did.”
“I mean, it’s an honor to be able to go overseas and show what Tulare can accomplish to the world, it’s something truly amazing, and it’s a great privilege I’ve had,” said Torrez Jr.. “And for the commentators and all the announcers to be able to say, you know, Richard Torrez Jr. from Tulare, California, and it’s been amazing. It’s been a blessing. And I hope I’m making everybody proud.”
Torrez Jr. said his dad, his town, his community, “these people molded the individual I am today.”
So, in that sense, Torrez Jr. said he did bring them with him to the Olympics even though his dad, family or even members of the community couldn’t be there in person to see him fight in Tokyo because of COVID-19 pandemic that delayed the Summer Games until 2021.
A very memorable Olympic moment for Torrez Jr. was the first time he stepped off the bus into the Olympic Village.
“I look around and I see these huge buildings and I see all these different flags on the buildings. And I turned to my right; and I see nothing but Olympians. I turn to my left; I see nothing but Olympians. And it kind of made me realize, like, this is really something important, you know, from everyone in the world, the number one-athletes, the best athletes that they have to offer are here today,” Torrez Jr. said.
“And they’re here with the same goal and drive that I have. And we’re all here on the mission to get gold and to be able to be a part of that and to just feel that atmosphere, it was amazing.”
For Torrez Jr., a tough moment at the Olympics was standing on the podium even though many were celebrating the historic moment back home.
“Honestly, being on that podium was one of the hardest things I had to do. It is right after a loss. And it was really tough,” he said. “While I’m thankful for the silver medal, it was a really bittersweet moment. I’m not going to sit there and say I had the best time on the podium. It was a really tough one, but I’m thankful that I was able to give it my all and I’m thankful for silver medal.”
A role model for youth
As Torrez Jr. walked around the Tulare Athletic Boxing Club on Aug. 18, young and old approached the Olympian boxer to strike up a conversation or just to say hi.
While it might feel like a little bit of pressure now to be called a role model for young boxers at the club, Torrez Jr. said at the same time those are the same people he has seen before he went to compete at the Olympics.
“Some of these guys in here I grew up with, you know, and so they’re still friends, are still almost a family to me. You know, they’re TAC and we’re bonded like no other. And while they may look at me as a role model, I look at them as my friend and brothers in a way,” Torrez Jr. said. “So that kind of makes it easier for me to handle.”
As far as going to talk to schools, Torrez Jr. said he tell students that even though he is now an Olympic medalist “I was where they are right now, and that’s something I tell them a lot.”
“I didn’t have any secret recipe. What I did, I did through hard work and consistency. And that’s something I preach to them, is like you just have to start something and then just stick with it and see where it goes,” he said of sharing with students his experience and what it took to get there.
Torrez Jr. said his accomplishments is also his alma mater and the community’s accomplishments.
“It was an entire community that stood behind me in the entire process of becoming an Olympian and Olympic medalist. And I just wanna say thank you to them and let’s celebrate,” he said.
As someone who grew up training in an adobe building that was used as an old fire station, in a town that not many people knew about, anything is possible, said the Olympic medalist to youth, especially Latinos.
“It was just dedication and commitment and consistency. That’s the biggest key word that I always try to talk to you about is consistency. If you stick to something that you really believe in, you will make a difference in it. You don’t have to be great to start, but you have to start in order to be great,” Torrez Jr. said, adding that he reached out to people, teachers, family, friends that gave him so much support.
“Everyone’s really helped me get to where I’m at today. So, surround yourself with really good people. You are your surroundings. And if you surround yourself with people that have the same drive and mindset that you do, then you have no limitations.”
Olympic silver medalist Richard Torrez Jr.
▪ Favorite Color: Green
▪ Favorite Food: My favorite food is burritos. The ones from Vejar’s actually those are my favorite the shrimp burritos
▪ Favorite Place to visit: the Yosemite Mountains. I really love the mountains and I love going on hikes and I love taking my dogs on hikes. I have one dog is a golden retriever named Dempsey and I take them everywhere me.
▪ Favorite Singer: I’d say my favorite singer is right now, Ed Sheeran, my favorite singer. I like him a lot, but my favorite composer is Beethoven. I really like Beethoven. I listen to classical music and he’s my favorite. I actually walked out to ‘Moonlight Sonata’ by Beethoven for my finals and for my semifinal match. And so, yeah, I took them with me.
▪ Favorite movie: My favorite movie I would either say is ‘The Life of Pi,’ ‘Remember the Titans’ or Disney’s ‘Hercules.’
Esta historia fue publicada originalmente el 19 de agosto de 2021, 5:25 p. m..
