Torrez Jr., Mireles could be future of boxing heavyweight world

Boxing fans at the Save Mart Center on Friday night may have gotten a glimpse into the future of Latinos in heavyweight boxing.

On the heels of Andy Ruiz – the 32-year-old native of Imperial who shocked the boxing world in June 2019 with a TKO of the United Kingdom’s Anthony Joshua to capture the WBA, WBO, IBO and IBF world heavyweight titles – come Richard Torrez Jr. and Anthony ‘El Gigante’ Mireles.

Torrez, the Olympic silver medalist from Tulare, defeated Allen Melson in his professional debut.

Mireles, who was born and raised in Iowa, easily handled Brandon Hughes in a 4-round heavyweight bout to improve to 3-0.

None other than boxing guru/promoter Bob Arum likes what he sees.

“We’re shocking people because nobody realized that Hispanics could be this big, particularly this Mireles kid. He’s what? Six-foot-9? El Gigante,” said Arum while in Fresno for Top Rank’s boxing card at the Save Mart Center.

“You know, Tyson Fury is a monster, and he’s so big. He’s a gypsy, but gypsies don’t grow that big,” said Arum. “Same thing can be for Hispanics. You know, we haven’t had many Hispanic heavyweights, particularly that big.”

Arum called Ruiz “a good Hispanic heavyweight, but he’s not a very tall guy.”

Ruiz, who is 6-2 with a 34-2 record, weighed 268 for his first fight against Joshua but ballooned to 283 for a rematch six months later that he lost by unanimous decision.

Torrez, 22, is also 6-2, but weighed in at 228.2 pounds at Thursday’s weigh-in.

Mireles, 24, weighed in at 259.4 pounds.

“We’ll see. I have a lot of confidence in Richard Torrez being a top-flight heavyweight,” said Arum.

Torrez and Mireles are no strangers to each other. They trained together and sparred against each other on the road to the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo.

USA Boxing picked Torrez to represent the U.S. as a heavyweight over Mireles.

“That was almost two years ago,” said Mireles, adding that there is “no ill will or anything like that.”

Torrez called Mireles’ sparring “really good.”

“He’s a good dude. We never actually got in the ring together, though,” said Torrez. “He’s an amazing guy with amazing talent, as you guys can clearly see. I wish him the best.”

Workmanlike effort by Torrez Jr. in debut

When Richard Torrez Jr. made the walk to the ring, there was no large entourage.

He didn’t wear a fancy cape or cap.

No musicians or celebrities walked behind him.

He was ready to get to work, much like a manual laborer takes his metal lunchbox with him to work. Torrez was ready for his professional debut.

Torrez wasted little time in his mission against Allen Melson of Alabama, who came with with a 6-4 (3 KOs) record.

Torrez knocked down Melson once in the opening round, but came out of it with a deep gash over his right eye in the final seconds.

At the 1:23 mark of the second round, Torrez gave the audience what it expected: A knockout.

“After the cut, I knew I had to get back to basics, and that’s what I did,” said Torrez. “I made sure to avoid additional head crashes and got the job done in the second.”

Torrez connected on 15 of 40 power punches.

“Sure, the cut is frustrating, but I won’t let it ruin the celebration,” said Torrez. “What a night! It was everything I hoped it would be.”

Torrez said he wasn’t sure what to expect.

“I wanted to make a good first impression, especially in front of my home fans. They brought the energy and I fed on the energy they gave me. The Central Valley is my home and I am proud to represent my people.”

No basketball for Mireles: “I’m a boxer”

The crowd wasn’t that big when Mireles stepped into the ring in a battle of unbeaten heavyweights with identical records: 2-2, 2 KOs.

It was shortly after 4:15 p.m. and few fans had wandered into the Save Mart Center when the main event (José Ramírez vs. José Pedraza) was still 5 hours away.

It mattered little to Mireles, who knocked down Brandon Hughes three times in scoring a knockout victory 1:04 into the second round.

Mireles, who has an 85-inch reach, trains with famed trainer Robert García in Oxnard.

Despite his height, Mireles has never had a desire to try basketball. He said he has picked up a basketball very few times in his life.

“I’m a boxer,” he said.

Mireles – whose mother is Mexican-American and whose father is from Zacatecas, México – compiled a 28-4 (10 KOs) record as an amateur. He was the 2019 National Golden Gloves champion.