PHOENIX: Things got nasty early in Richard Torrez Jr. and Willie Jake Jr.’s bout as they fought one another like it was a dispute over money or women.
With that kind of action it was never going to be long before someone took a beatdown and Jake was that guy as Torrez dropped him and never let him off the hook.
The killer blow was a hard right hand that Torrez set up, having anchored his back foot to the floor to provide maximum leverage and turn his glove into his opponent’s jaw. Bang. Get out of here, punk.
Watch it in slow-mo right here:
The slo-mo 😳 pic.twitter.com/fXsM2bkv06
— Top Rank Boxing (@trboxing) August 13, 2023
The referee administered a count, and let Jake return to the fight but Torrez laid it on fast and thick, leathering him with shots from all angles until he secured that first round finish.
“There are still things we need to work on, and I know that,” Torrez said after his clubbing win.
“It’s up to my team to decide when my next fight is. They tell me to jump, and I say, ‘How high?’ I’m just excited to follow the process.”
Victory advanced Torrez’s pro boxing record to six wins (six knockouts). He remains unbeaten.
The blessing and the curse.
Being Emiliano Vargas can be both a blessing and a curse.
It’s a blessing because you’re father is Fernando Vargas, there is a built-in fan-base and attention, and a wealth of boxing knowledge in your own family.
But, just ask Nico Ali Walsh, Chris Eubank Jr., and Conor Benn — other boxers with famous fathers — and they’ll tell you that having a famous surname can put a target on your back and a bounty on your head.
Jorge Luis Marquez Alvarado looked to collect that bounty early as he swung a fist at Vargas’ head like it was a baseball bat. Right hands pierced the air like arrows, and hook shots flew over Vargas’ hair.
Vargas, for the most part, kept his composure and landed counters of his own as he sought to use Alvarado’s aggression against him.
Then, in the second round, his patience paid dividends as he dropped Alvarado with a straight right that made the Texan fall awkwardly to the floor. As he regained his composure, Vargas — who has shown showmanship throughout fight week — gestured to the crowd to make some noise. And they did. The Arizonan crowd showed out for Vargas.
Vargas even gestured to Alvarado, ‘Let’s fight.’ He wanted to give the crowd even more.
And he again delivered, dropping Alvarado for a second time and forcing a stoppage two minutes and 17 seconds into the second round.
SALUTE 🫡
— Top Rank Boxing (@trboxing) August 13, 2023
💫 @EmilianoFVargas just put on like a veteran of the game.#NavarreteValdez | 10PM ET | @ESPN pic.twitter.com/t99Bd99d4a
Top Rank founder and CEO Bob Arum told ProBox TV earlier this week that Vargas is “a chip off the old block,” adding: “He is very capable and he has a desire to achieve the same things that his father did.”
Though he seems to get hit far more often than he should, it’s so far, so good, for the Las Vegas resident.
