Richard Torrez Jr. (5-0, 5 KOs) remained undefeated with a first-round TKO over James Bryant (6-3, 4 KOs). Torrez initiated the bout in aggressive fashion, using feints and head movement to close the distance.
After a few exchanges, Torrez noticed that Bryan would often crouch forward. The U.S. Olympic silver medalist then responded by unleashing his left uppercut, which eventually dropped Bryant before the round ended.
Bryant was able to survive, but his corner advised the referee to stop the fight before the second round could commence.
“When you land a punch like that, it almost feels like there’s no glove there. It just feels like a solid shot from your knuckle to his head. And that’s when you know you hurt the guy,” Torrez said.
“I thought he was in the recovery state because he had a minute left, but if the fight were to continue, I would have applied pressure. I started off the first round a little slower than usual, but I did that on purpose. I wanted to set my distance and my jab and feints. And luckily that uppercut landed and there was more to come.”
In undercard action:
Junior Lightweights: Andres Cortes (19-0, 10 KOs) outboxed Luis Melendez (17-3, 13 KOs) en route to a 10-round unanimous decision. Both men started the bout cautiously, but Cortes’ superior ring IQ allowed him to dominant more and more as the rounds progressed. Scores: 100-90 3x.
Junior Welterweights: Lindolfo Delgado (17-0, 13 KOs), a 2016 Mexican Olympian, retained his undefeated record with a unanimous decision win over Clarence Booth (21-7, 13 KOs) after eight rounds of action. Delgado scored a knockdown in the final round, courtesy of a hard right hand. Scores: 80-71 and 79-72 2x.
Lightweights: Emiliano Fernando Vargas (3-0, 2 KOs) went the distance for the first time in his career by scoring a four-round unanimous win over southpaw Francisco Duque (1-2). Scores: 40-36 3x.
