PHOENIX: One of promotion outfit Top Rank’s unique selling points is its ability to match young boxers well so they turn from novices into promising prospects, contenders and, maybe one day, champions.
Ahead of the company’s next show, which features a WBO junior lightweight world championship bout between established fighters Emanuel Navarrete and Oscar Valdez, Top Rank founder and CEO Bob Arum told ProBox TV about two youngsters competing on the undercard.
There is Richard Torrez Jr., a 24-year-old heavyweight. And there is Emiliano Vargas, a 19-year-old lightweight who is the son of the iconic boxer Fernando Vargas.
“Torrez reminds me a lot of Jerry Quarry,” Arum told ProBox TV when asked what he likes about the up-and-coming Californian.
Nicknamed 'The Bellflower Bomber,' Quarry dazzled mostly in the late 1960s and early 70s having fought Joe Frazier, George Chuvalo, and Muhammad Ali.
He fought Floyd Patterson to a draw in 1967 before beating him in a rematch. He later scored wins over Ron Lyle and Earnie Shavers.
Arum pointed to Quarry because at 6-foot, he was rarely the biggest man in the ring and often had to overcome his opponent’s physical advantages through different means
Torrez is 6-foot-2 and faces similar scenarios today as heavyweights in the modern era can often be 6-foot-6 and taller.
“In the beginning, back in the 60s and 70s, Quarry was an undersized heavyweight but had explosive power,” Arum said. “He could handle anybody.”
Also on the card Saturday, which takes place at the Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale and will be broadcast on ESPN, is Emiliano Vargas.
Arum called Vargas “a chip off the old block.”
He said: “Vargas is very capable and he has a desire to achieve the same things that his father did.”
