BETWEEN 1960 and 1998, the United States retained the lineal heavyweight title for 38 years, with stars such as Muhammad Ali and Mike Tyson becoming global superstars that transcended the sport.
Yet, the heavyweight landscape across the pond is a barren one at present, having not held the lineal title since 2001 and boasting a world champion for just two months of this current decade.
With few American heavyweights competing at the world level, Richard Torrez Jr, 12-0 (11 KOs), has now taken it upon himself to step up the quality of his opposition. Torrez will seek to prove that he is the man for his countrymen to get behind, accepting a tough challenge against Guido Vianello, 13-2-1 (11 KOs), that headlines in Las Vegas this weekend.
A Golden Gloves winner, two-time national champion and Olympic silver medallist at Tokyo 2020, 25-year-old Torrez now sticks out as the obvious candidate for potential heavyweight success, but his professional career is yet to take off.
Despite 12 wins and an impressive record of stoppages, Torrez has faced much criticism for opponent selection, and the Californian southpaw has yet to take part in a truly competitive fight.
Now, ‘The Gentleman Boxer’ seeks to silence his doubters by making the monumental jump to take on Vianello, who is ranked in the top 15 with three of the four sanctioning bodies. The Italian is fresh from a career-best knockout of Russian knockout artist Arslanbek Makhmudov back in August.
Adding to the challenge is the fact that Torrez has fought beyond five rounds just once during his career, meaning his unproven gas tank could be put to the test in a first scheduled 10-rounder. This bout also happens to be against an opponent who comfortably represents his most difficult test to date.
Meanwhile, Vianello has gone to round seven and beyond in five of his last six fights and has proven to be competitive in the latter stages, having stopped Makhmudov in round eight.
That being said, the amateur pedigree of Torrez makes him the favourite in Saturday night’s salivating main-event. The curly-haired concussion-causer could thrust himself into the mix against more recognisable contenders to casual fans across the pond. More importantly, he could become the household name heavyweight that is so desperately needed stateside.
On the undercard, Lindolfo Delgado, 22-0 (16 KOs), faces off with Dominican contender Elvis Rodriguez, 17-1-1 (13 KOs). This intriguing IBF super-lightweight title eliminator will decide an opponent for former champion and current mandatory challenger, Subriel Matias. The victor of that bout will then challenge the winner of Hitchins-Kambosos for the full world title.
Meanwhile, 20-year-old lightweight phenomenon Abdullah Mason, 17-0 (15 KOs), seeks to continue his rapid rise at 135lbs by taking on Mexico’s Carlos Ornelas, 28-4 (15 KOs). Former British super-welterweight champion Troy Williamson, 20-3-1 (14 KOs), makes a surprise appearance in a well-matched middleweight battle against Jahi Tucker, 13-1-1 (6 KOs).
The full card takes place on Saturday, April 5 and will be available to watch live on Sky Sports. Ringwalks for the main event are expected to take place around 4am BST (Sun).
