Richard Torrez Jr vs Guido Vianello full card rundown
Top Rank’s squad of undefeated prospects lay their perfect records on the line in this showdown at the Palms in Las Vegas.
Richard Torrez Jr vs Guido Vianello (10 round heavyweight 200lbs+)
12-0 (11 kos) 25yrs old. Richard “KiKi” Torrez Jr is facing the first big test of his young career. Torrez is an exciting all action southpaw. He’s got an endearing character and the people are solidly behind him with his endorsement of the working class farming communities of Tulare, California where he was born and raised. He fights with a blazing aggressive style and makes up for his usual height disadvantage with immediate aggression and blistering combination punches behind a leaping lead hand attack. He’s even been known to employ the Dempsey roll to close the distance. We don’t expect anything less than fireworks and non-stop action when he steps between the ropes.
13-2-1 (11 kos) 30yrs old. Guido “The Gladiator” Vianello is coming off an 8th rd tko of Makhmudov last august. Vianello’s only losses come from a bad cut in the Jonathan Rice fight back in January of ‘23, and his close split decision loss to Efe Ajagba one year ago.. He had Ajagba hurt early but absorbed a lot of clean uppercuts, he showed a tough chin but ultimately was a little too sloppy and wild to score his own clean punches and secure the win. Interestingly, he seems to have not faced a southpaw yet as a pro. Though we did see Ajagba operate as a switch hitter late in their match, Guido made the adjustments and displayed competent footwork in the open stance exchanges.
Gianello stands 6’ 6’’ and extends his reach to 79”. The Gladiator weighed in at 245.5 lbs in his last fight. Torrez Jr will be the shorter man on fight night at 6’ 2”. His wingspan is 76” and he scaled most recently at 252 lbs. So there’s not a major reach discrepancy, the only physical stat that favors Guido is his height. Torrez has fought tall guys before so he’s no stranger to closing the distance. The names on Vianello’s record have got this fight hyped up and the energy will no doubt be intense when these big men face off. With the open stance battle and both fighter’s tendency to favor the rear hand power punch I predict a lot of chest to chest collisions and potential clashes of the head. I hope the ref is ready to work, he’s gonna have his hands full for this one.
Olympic experience:
Vianello, at 21 years old, competed in Rio at the 2016 Olympics and lost in the first round to Cuban Lenier Pero (a southpaw and brother of Danier “The Fear” Pero) who went on to lose to Filip Hergovic in the next round. Sounds like a spicy tournament! Guido has said that he didn't get high level sparring in the amateurs so his performance is commendable but really how is the boxing scene in Italy? Especially the heavyweights? He’s been living in Las Vegas so he’s undoubtedly been immersed in a talented pool of high level sparring partners.
Richard Torrez Jr won silver at the 2020 (2021) Olympics at the age of 22. He lost to Jalalov who went on to win gold in 2020 and 2024. Will they rematch as pros? That’ll probably be on the back burner from a business standpoint, but I’d imagine Kiki would love to get that one back in the pros.
Coaches:
-Torrez main trainer is his father Richard Torrez Sr. a former olympic hopeful himself, they train out of Tulare Athletic Boxing Club in Tulare, California.
-Guido has the Italian national team coach Simone D’Alessandri in his corner and his boxing career has been an international experience with previous training camps in Italy and the UK, and he is now settled in the US.
Undercard:
Juan Esteban Garcia- vs Steven Navarro (8 rounds junior bantamweight 115lbs)
5-0 (4kos) 21yrs old. Steven “Kid Dynamite” Navarro is a special talent from LA. He’s a 13 time national amateur champion. His father Refugio Cuco Navarro is primary trainer. He’s extremely fast and throws punches in bunches that dazzle and destroy. He’ll look to continue his family's fighting legacy and deliver a dynamite performance.
14-1-2 (11kos) Garcia faced another undefeated fighter twice and got a draw in both instances. Hailing from Mexicali, this is his first fight on American soil. He looks to be a tough working boxer out of the active and rugged boxing scene in the baja. His chin will be tested and if he holds up he can give Navarro the toughest fight of his young career.
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Lindolfo Delgado Vs Elvis Rodriguez (10 rounds Junior Welterweight 140lbs)
22-0 (16 kos) 30 yrs old. Lindalfo Delgado is a rising star with a smooth style and a heavy punch. From Linares, Nuevo Leon, Mexico. He represented Mexico in the 2016 olympics. He turned professional in 2017. He currently holds the WBO Latino SuperLightweight Title. He trains under Robert Garcia in Riverside, CA.
17-1-1 (13kos) 29 yrs old. Southpaw Elvis Rodriguez “the Dominican kid” hailing from Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. He’s been on the successful comeback trail since his majority decision loss to Kenneth Sims Jr in May of 2021. His one draw comes from an accidental headbutt in 2019. Trained by Freddie Roach, Elvis was a highly touted prospect before his loss to Sims but he still has a lot to give and this clash will be a great chance for either fighter to elevate their status in the ranks with a notable win here.
Albert Gonzalez vs Dana Coolwell (8 rounds featherweight 126lbs)
12-0 (7kos) 22yrs old. Albert “Chop Chop” Gonzalez is an exciting puncher with the relentless classic mexican boxing style you'd expect from a kid out of southern cali. From Moreno Valley, California comes young Chop Chop, fighting out of Robert Garcia’s gym. This will be his first fight against a somewhat familiar name, Coolwell fought on the Tyson v Paul undercard, but Gonzalez’s record shows he hasn't been handled too softly. as he has fought against decent records. There is only one upside down opponent on his pro record. He’s got so much potential to shine, this kid could really be something. He’s got the kind of natural punch and fighting style that really makes me take notice. Keep your eye on Chop Chop.
13-3 (8kos) 26yr old “Deadly” Dana Coolwell. This Australian is back on US soil for the second time in a row to again face an undefeated Top Rank prospect. He was down twice in that fight against Shu Shu Carrington but he managed to hang in there and hear the final bell. He's an indigenous Australian of the Mununjali Clan. He said in an interview that he “peaked too early” in his last training camp and he made the adjustments. We’ll see if he can use his good jab and natural reach to trouble the aggressive Gonzalez.
Jahi Tucker vs Troy Williamson (10 rounds Middleweight 160lbs)
13-1-1 (6kos) 22yrs old. Jahi Tucker is settling into the middleweight division after moving up three fights ago. He debuted at 147 (welterweight) in the bubble back in 2020 in a time when most fighters were forced to hang up the gloves. He stayed busy and built a 9-0 winning streak until he moved up into the junior middleweight division (154lbs) for three fights in 2023 and suffered his first loss and an unfortunate draw. He has been on a 3 fight winning streak since moving up to 160. The Deer Park native will bring his New York style to the ring with eyes on a stellar performance.
20-3-1 (14 kos) 33yrs old Troy “Trojan” Williamson takes his first fight on US territory. He’s floated around in weight over his career but stated that he could no longer make the 154lb division. No surprise for the 31 yr old. He's coming off of back to back losses to undefeated boxers back home in the UK. He's got the ring experience here, but that likely won't be enough to upset the American.
Abdullah Mason Vs Carlos Ornelas (10 rounds lightweight 135 lbs)
17-0 (15 kos) 20 yrs old. Abdullah Mason will bring his slick southpaw style to town and undoubtedly electrify the ring as he's known to do. It seems like just a few days ago that he dominated and stopped Manuel Jaimes with razor sharp punches in the 4th round. The kid from Cleveland has stayed busy since his 2021 debut. He made headlines in an all out war with Johan Vasquez last november where Mason touched the canvas twice before dispatching Vasquez in the second round. While he did go down, he showed great recovery and didn't seem to be ill affected by the punches. Most fans saw it as the most exciting round of boxing in recent memory. This young talent has got the goods to be a superstar, keep your eyes on him as he walks to the ring Saturday night.
28-4-0 (15 kos) 30 yrs old. Carlos Ornelas will bring his experience to the ring but could be a rusted fighter with the 15 month layoff he's had. He’ll hear the bell for the first time in America, joining his countryman Juan Garcia as an international debutante. I expect a gutsy effort from Ornelas but his chances of pulling off the upset over Mason are slim to none.
Sammy Contreras Jr vs Robert Jimenez (4 rounds Junior Welterweight 140lbs)
0-0 (0 kos) 21 yrs old. Sammy Contreras of Palmdale will make his professional debut on this card. He has an impressive 14 national amateur championships behind him, and we'll be interested to see how he adjusts to the professional environment.
2-2-1 (1 kos) 30 yrs old. Robert Jimenez of Nampa, Idaho will be moving up in weight from lightweight for this bout. This writer has actually been at one of this kid’s fights before at an event in Oregon where I was working as a cornerman. It’s nice to see a familiar face from the pacific northwest here, but the odds are against him in this one. I recall he's a rugged fighter with an aggressive style. He's gonna make a fight of it, that's for sure.
DJ Zamora vs Hugo Castaneda (8 rounds junior lightweight 130lbs)
15-0 (10kos) 21 yrs old. Nevada’s DJ Zamora “The war machine” will defend his undefeated record in front of his hometown crowd, though not for the first time. It's not surprising for a talented Vegas native to have already boxed on the undercard of massive events like the now legendary Crawford Spence show. We can safely wager that he’ll confidently showcase his southpaw tactics.
15-1-1 (11 kos) 22 yrs old. Hugo Castaneda comes in off a Tko win over a fellow Texan. Castaneda stopped the undefeated Laredo kid in his own town, in the very first round. Castaneda will try to spice up the show with his tex-mex style. This fight should be a fast paced firecracker blast of action.
Art Barrera Jr. vs. Daijohn Gonzalez (6 Rounds Welterweight 147 lbs)
7-0 (5 kos) 19 yrs old. Art Barrera Jr is the youngest guy on this fight card. His fledgling career is off to a busy start since his 2023 debut. He fought 5 times in 2024, stopping three of five of those opponents. This will be familiar fighting turf for the Paramount, CA fighter, he fought here at the Pearl Theatre at the Palms last July.
12-5-0 (6 kos) 32 yrs old. Daijhon Gonzalez, a southpaw from Davenport Iowa will bring the in ring experience and the open stance challenge. He’ll be the older fighter, we’ll see if his fight experience has granted him the wisdom needed to be competitive with this young, fresh rising opponent Barrera Jr.
