By Frank Bay: It was a decent weekend of boxing. No big names but a lot of fights from all over the world to keep boxing fans satiated before its traditionally biggest weekend of the year, Cinco de Mayo.
When Size Matters
Richard Torrez Jr. is an average heavyweight. That’s what I learned from his somewhat ugly fight versus Guido Vianello. With the right matchmaking, Torrez could end up with an email belt if Top Rank can guide him for another year or so and wait out the elder statesmen Usyk, Johsua, and Fury.
I’m basing this analysis on my barometer of how to judge a fighter. What should have happened if Torrez was the cream of the crop? he should have gone through a fringe contender like Vianello like a hot knife through butter.
When a fighter is highly touted, that’s what fans expect. But when we see a prospect struggle, red flags are raised. I understand the process but it’s only common sense to make the assessment that if Torrez struggles with fighter C, then when he steps up to fighter B it will only be that much more difficult.
Vianello isn’t a cake walk but he is nowhere near the talent that the top contenders are at this moment like Joseph Parker or Agit Kabayel. Top Rank will have to put the brakes on Torrez the same way they did with Baby Anderson after he faced former champ Martin.
Torrez would suffer the same fate as Jared Anderson if he chose to ignore Top Ranks’ advice and fight a guy like Martin Bakole. Torrez seems to have enough self-awareness to understand his talent and take Top Rank’s advice.
The Grades-
Aside from the obvious, Torrez’s smallish height and weight, he is very awkward. Torrez’s biggest strike is that he lacks fluidity. His constant lunging and telegraphing of punches will eventually get him flattened. He still fights at an amateur pace.
He constantly bounces and maybe does what could be called a feint, but his lack of dexterity just makes him look like a guy doing the booga loo. Only his head doesn’t move, so it only makes him look like an 8th grade boy attempting to dance at his first dance. To put it bluntly, it looks ugly.
Torrez will need to learn how to move around the ring with more ease and grace to set up his punches. Even I could see his punches coming. The positive takeaway is that Torrez is a tough fighter. He showed heart and chin against the much bigger man. He fought through all of Vianello’s hugging and was able to stagger him a few times.
I’d give Torrez stamina a C-. He will need to find some way of improving this because he appeared to fade drastically down the stretch. I realize a major part of this is due to him being weighed down by much bigger men, a tactic Lennox Lewis and Fury used, but I think a start is avoiding all the lunging as much as possible.
The last good thing I saw in Torrez is he has decent pop, and the fans love him. He seems to enjoy putting on a show and loves interacting with his fans. My last opinion is that if I were Torrez, I would consider getting a top-level trainer that works with Heavies. Torrez is trained by his father, but I haven’t seen an ounce of improvement in a year of watching him.
A new trainer could help Torrez learn to set up his punches with more ease. Now, for the most important grade: watchability. Torrez is a B-. Torrez will throw punches and be there to be hit, which makes him fan-friendly. It should be fun watching him go further.
When Reality Meets Hype
Also on the card was severely overhyped Abdullah Mason. And if I learned something from Torrez’s struggles, I learned nothing from Mason’s amazing birthday victory (insert eye roll sarcasm).
I’m sorry, but it is painfully obvious that Top Rank put Mason in a straitjacket after the scare they suffered when he was nearly decapitated by Yohan Vasquez two fights ago. Even an untrained, casual boxing observer could see that Mason was 3 times the size of Ornelas.
Something the ESPN announcing team casually overlooked: Mason looked like a middleweight who was fully hydrated after the fight. How do we know this, you ask? At the start, I noticed Mason was extremely dry-looking and had a lack of snap in his punches.
Those are signs of a fighter killing themselves to make weight. In a bit of a surprise, Tim Bradley also chimed in that Mason was noticeably not his usual self during the first few rounds. The other painfully obvious thing the announcing team casually glossed over was Ornelas is a career 126-pounder.
ESPN/Top Rank need to do something about the cringe-worthy glazing Tim Bradley does for his guys. I get he is good friends with Keyshawn Davis and Mason outside the ring, but it’s maddening that we are supposed to pretend he is an objective observer when he hoots and hollers when Mason lands a somewhat decent punch. It would be tolerable if Bradley was honest that Ornelas was a fighter coming up two weight classes to make Mason look like a mini-Mike Tyson.
The Grades-
For this fight, there is none as it was akin to a soldier looking like Commando in a simulation as opposed to facing real live bullets. Does he do good things in the ring? Sure, but I can look like Sugar Ray Leonard against a punching bag. Mason obviously has all the athletic gifts, but this is boxing, not a triathlon.
Mason’s chin will be his downfall when and if he fights a live dog. I’m just not willing to buy a ton of stock in him now. Mason does get a B for watchability. He seems willing to mix it up and not be content to run and hold like his counterpart, Shakur Stevenson.
Chop-Chop or Slop?
Another notable prospect on the card coming out of RGBA (trainer Robert Garcia’s gym) was a fighter going by way of Chop-Chop Gonzalez. Gonzalez has a sellable backstory. Chop Chop fighting at 126 is a good prospect, but he was put to the test. He fought a fringe contender that severely challenged him.
Chop-Chop looked good but not great. The ESPN announcing team had it closer than I did. I felt Chop-Chop did great body work that was overlooked by Bradley and company. The frustrating aspect of watching and listening to Bradley is how obviously biased he is when commenting. He was influencing viewers that Coolwell was perhaps winning the fight.
The bias plays a part when its obvious Chop-Chop was in a real fight. Coolwell made Bruce Carrington go the distance. Where Bradley is overly critical of Chop-Chop stepping up in class, he in turn has a love fest for Mason facing an actual punching bag. Whereas Mason was fighting a guy 3x smaller, Chop-Chop was fighting a guy a lot bigger than him.
The Grade-
I must give him a C+. He got the decisive win in a tougher than expected match. A- body work but defense gets a D. Chop-Chop is very muscular for these smaller weight classes. And like Torrez it lends to a lack of dexterity, making him a sitting target.
He appears to attempt giving angles like Bam Rodriguez, but it just looks awkward because he doesn’t have the fluidity of Bam. He doesn’t have the feet to pull it off. Chop-Chop gets a B- in power. The punches sound hard but I didn’t see Coolwell too worried.
At 126, the top of the class, like Espinoza and Fulton, can take it and dish it. Going forward, Chop-Chop will need to work on a stiff jab and become better at pace and head movement. Chop-Chop loves to load up and sit on his shots a little too much.
We know this because Coolwell was also able to see it coming. Coolwell got better at sensing when Chop-Chop was loading up and got out of the way. Top Rank would be wise to bring Chop-Chop along slowly.
A better mover than CoolWell would’ve perhaps beaten Gonzalez. Nevertheless, he passed the test and has some talent, but needs a tad bit more seasoning. He gets an A- in watchability. Chop-Chop is must-see TV. As he steps up in the class, the wars are soon to come.
Aussie Fans Are Forgiving
And finally, Timmy Tszyu. It was impressive to see the crowd and excitement in the land down under out for Tszyu, but that’s where it ends. I am a fan of Tszyu, I was rooting for him against Jermell Charlo for undisputed, but my how the times change.
My only thought watching this fight on Prime Video was geez, I feel sorry for Australian fans that were charged PPV for this garbage. Tszyu pummeled punching bag Spencer into submission. But as for Tzsyu, he visibly doesn’t look like the same uber-confident fighter he once was.
He looks weaker in terms of boxing ability, i.e., reflexes and power, but mentally, I felt I could literally see a man trying to find himself last night. At this moment, I couldn’t favor Timmy against any of the top 154-pounders.
The safe bet is for Tszyu to challenge Keith Thurman for good money. Even that fight is not a sure bet for Timmy. There is no scouting report, since I didn’t feel Spencer was anything but a doormat. If I didn’t know better, I’d say Joey came to lie down. No need to tell you that Tim Tszyu is a must-watch. In a Timmy Tszyu fight, there will be blood!
Delgado Loses in Winning
I don’t want to say much about the Lindolfo vs Elvis fight because there wasn’t much to talk about. If faces were used to judge a fight, then it was clear Lindolfo won. Delgado made Elvis’s face look like hamburger meat by the end of the fight.
Some fans are crying about a robbery but the way I see it is if you have followed Elvis’s career then you know he is his own worst enemy. Elvis is okay, lying back passively, moving and content to do nothing of note.
Delgado isn’t much better and is notorious for having no sense of awareness when it comes to making a fight. He has no sense of urgency round after frustrating round. Delgado gets a D plus for performance alone. I don’t see him becoming a champion with performances like that. If I didn’t know better, I would surmise Delgado has gas tank concerns.
Outro
Takeaway pluses from the night- kudos to referee Mark Taylor for punishing excessive holding. We need more of this in boxing. Salute to the Aussies for showing insane appreciation for their man down on his luck. Hats off to a good crowd in Las Vegas for Torrez.
The fans were showing lots of love for Torrez and Keyshawn Davis. Big shot out to Pro Box TV for showcasing Salas, who destroyed his man Cruz Saturday night. Lastly, there was a good showing from the B sides, Vianello and Coolwell. We will see them again.
Didn’t bother watching Joyce vs. Hrgovic or Janibek in lackluster, who cares fights where I knew what the results would be beforehand. Lastly, congratulations to tough luck Mexican fighter Moran, who upset American Myquan Williams. Willaims, believing he had the fight in the bag, attempted to run and hold his way to victory in the last round. I love it when that strategy backfires on fighters!
Last Updated on 04/07/2025
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