Richard Torrez Jr. continued his rise to the top of the rankings as the young heavyweight star made his six straight knockouts.
The US Olympic silver medalist went 6-0, with six big KOs, and needed less than one round to do it.
Torrez knocked out Willie Jake Jr. in the televised opener of Navarrete vs Valdez and made it four first-round stoppages from his six starts. Nobody has made it to the fourth round against the Californian.
Heavyweight KO
Torrez could time his counterattack as his opponent lunged forward with wide shots. He landed a right hook that sent Jake face-first to the canvas.
Jake rose to his feet, but the damage had been done. Torrez swarmed him with heavy shots, and referee Robert Hoyle stopped the contest in just 82 seconds.
After his triumph, Torrez said: “It’s great to be back in the ring after so much time off. There are still things we need to work on. I know that. We’re going back to the gym tomorrow.
“It’s up to my team to decide when my next fight is. They tell me to jump, and I say, ‘How high?’ I’m just excited to follow the process.”
Deontay Wilder was famously impenetrable through four rounds. Torrez will hope to go one better in his rise to the top.
Lindolfo Delgado
Rising junior welterweight contender Lindolfo Delgado scored a one-sided 10-round unanimous decision against Jair Valtierra (16-3, 8 KOs) in tonight’s co-feature.
Both boxed cautiously and evaded combinations with head movement and footwork. However, Delgado was more active with his output, landing combinations, and counter hooks to the body.
Delgado remained undefeated on 18-0 with scores of 98-92 and 99-91 [twice].
Results
Lightweight: Emiliano Fernando Vargas [6-0, 5 KOs] defeated Jorge Luis Marquez Alvarado via second-round TKO.
Alvarado lunged towards Vargas, who responded with left hooks. After finding his rhythm, Vargas began teeing off on Alvarado, dropping him twice before finishing the bout.
Time of stoppage: 2:17.
Middleweight: In an all-Phoenix battle, Sergio Rodriguez [8-0-1, 7 KOs] blasted out Eduardo Ayala (9-4-1, 3 KOs) via second-round knockout.
Rodriguez landed an overhand right that sent Ayala to the canvas. Ayala rose to his feet on wobbly legs, but a quick flurry from Rodriguez forced the referee to end the contest.
Time of stoppage: 1:02.
Junior Welterweight: Southern California product Ricardo Ruvalcaba [10-0-1, 9 KOs] defeated Adrian Orban via second-round TKO.
Ruvalcaba dropped Obran with a hook to the body in the first round and dropped him twice with more body shots in the second round to end the fight.
Time of stoppage: 1:11.
