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Add FightsATW on GoogleHeavyweight contender Richard Torrez Jr. (14-0, 12 KOs) is heading toward the biggest night of his young career as he faces Frank Sanchez (25-1, 18 KOs) on the undercard of Oleksandr Usyk vs. Rico Verhoeven, live from Cairo, Egypt, on DAZN PPV. But when you speak to Torrez, you would think he isn’t affected at all by the importance of this fight, as he believes he is a future heavyweight champion, even if the fans don’t see it yet.
Every time I’ve had the opportunity to interview the 26-year-old Torrez from Tulare, CA, he is into something different. On one occasion, he was learning to fly a plane and going to school. Next time, he was learning to dance salsa and bachata while also perfecting his magic tricks. What is he into now, a year after our last conversation?
“Right now, I’m taking swing and two-step classes, like country dancing,” Torrez told FightsATW. “I’m also into videography. I got back into chess. I’m on a 150-day chess streak on the chess.com app.”
This is who Torrez is, always keeping himself busy. Last year, staying busy was a bit of a challenge. After he fought in April, his promotional company, Top Rank, concluded its media rights deal with ESPN at the end of July, leaving it without a platform to host their events. As the weeks passed, with no deal in sight for Top Rank, they began sending their fighters to cards hosted by other promoters to keep them busy. Torrez was one of those fighters and was sent to Mexico in November to face Tomas Salek, where he scored a first-round knockout.
As the calendar turned from 2025 to 2026, Top Rank, still without a media rights deal at the time, sent Torrez to face Saturday’s opponent Sanchez on a Premier Boxing Champions (PBC) card in March. Sanchez’s injury postponed the fight, and after Top Rank signed with DAZN months later, it was easier to place the Sanchez fight on another card hosted by the streaming platform, Saturday’s Matchroom Boxing event.
This was a lot for any fighter to go through, but Torrez kept his head down and continued to trust his team to always keep him in the best position. If you ask Torrez, he doesn’t care about all the things that happen around him, as he is just focused on lacing up the gloves and getting in the ring. “I just want to fight,” said Torrez. “I could fight in a farmhouse with just a cow watching and still be happy with that.”
Although this fight was delayed from its original March date, Torrez hasn’t taken his foot off the pedal and hasn’t allowed the delay to halt his training camp.
“I started training camp in January, and I wished there was a stopping point, but there hasn’t been,” Torrez said while laughing. “It’s been a full-on camp from January to now. I think it’s a blessing in disguise, a little bit, because it gives me more time to train, hone my skills, and be completely prepared. Also, we are fighting in Egypt now. It’s incredible. I’m super excited and blessed to have this opportunity.”
Although Torrez may have been overlooked by fans as a serious contender, the sanctioning bodies have taken notice, as he is ranked #4 with the IBF, #7 with the WBC, #9 with the WBO, and, most recently, #8 with the Ring Magazine.
“It’s an incredible feeling to know that your hard work is being noticed by a bunch of sanctioning bodies and people in general. I’ve recently learned not to get my recognition and inspiration from outside sources. It’s something I have to be confident in myself. I believe I’m the best in the world and will be on top. All these numbers are great, but until you see me at the top, I’ll still be working hard.”
On Saturday, Torrez faces a tough, crafty veteran in Sanchez, and he must get past him to get one step closer to his goal of getting a shot at the heavyweight title. When asked how he will describe this year for himself when it is all said and done, Torrez simply said, “The Moment.”
“It’s the moment to find out where we are,” Torrez said. “It’s the moment to put all the cards on the table and see what’s going to happen. Frank is a great fighter, and after this, it would be a title eliminator, which means that if everything goes well, there could be a world championship fight at the end of the year. We are going to seize this moment.”
On Saturday in Giza, Egypt, will this be the fight where Torrez introduces himself as a fighter to be discussed among the division’s top young talent? We are only days away from finding out live on DAZN PPV.
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