“Torrez will be only as good as his chin holds up,” said Bradley on his YouTube channel.
Bradley explained that Torrez checks almost every other box as a heavyweight prospect, but warned that durability becomes unavoidable once fighters reach elite-level opposition.
“You got to have heart and you got to have a chin. You need both,” Bradley said.
“And if you can’t take it here or take a big shot, especially in the heavyweight division, you are defected.”
Bradley stopped short of fully dismissing Torrez, pointing out that the knockout shot from Sanchez was one the unbeaten American never saw coming.
“Now, I’m not saying that Torrez is defective, but that was the first right hand you got hit with,” Bradley said. “Some guys get knocked out by shots they don’t see.”
The loss also reminded fans of Torrez’s first-round knockout defeat to unbeaten Uzbek heavyweight Bakhodir Jalolov in the amateurs in September 2019 in Ekaterinburg, Russia. The sequence looked similar to the Sanchez loss, with Torrez rushing forward aggressively before getting caught clean by the taller southpaw and ending up flat on his back.
Bradley also criticized Torrez’s aggressive approach against a dangerous puncher like Sanchez, saying the fight developed exactly the way the veteran Cuban heavyweight would have wanted.
“It’s dangerous going towards a puncher,” said Bradley. “You got to take your time.”
The Hall of Fame analyst added that Sanchez appeared to identify Torrez’s habits immediately and timed the looping right hand perfectly after seeing the same openings on film.
“Ain’t nothing changed,” Bradley said. “Same damn mistake.”
Despite the loss, Bradley still praised Torrez for his work ethic and mentality, saying the heavyweight contender remains one of the better young personalities in the division.
“He checks every other box,” Bradley said. “He’s a hard worker. He’s very disciplined. He’s a good dude. He’s a student of the game.”
Bradley said that Torrez’s future may now depend on how he responds once he begins taking clean heavyweight punches more regularly against experienced opposition.
Read the full article here