Tulare's Richard Torrez Jr. signs with Top Rank Boxing after historic Tokyo Olympic finish

Tulare native and Olympic silver medalist Richard Torrez Jr. is turning pro.

Torrez signed a multi-year deal with Top Rank Boxing on Nov. 17 and is set to make his professional debut next year.

A Mission Oak High School grad, Torrez won a silver medal in the super heavyweight division at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics in August.

Top Rank, founded by Bob Arum, has promoted many world-class fighters, including Muhammad Ali, Oscar De La Hoya, Roberto Durán, Joe Frazier, George Foreman, Manny Pacquiao, Sugar Ray Leonard, Floyd Mayweather Jr., and Terence Crawford.

"Top Rank has a tradition of building legends, and I hope to have my legacy there one day, too," Torrez said. "I think they have the platform and the right people behind them to be able to make me a champion if I do everything I need to do. That's kind of why I chose to sign with Top Rank."

Torrez will make his pro-fighting debut in the first quarter of 2022. A specific date hasn’t yet been confirmed. Terms of the contract were not revealed. 

A memorable year

It's been a memorable year for Torrez.

Torrez, representing Team USA, won his first three fights at this past summer's Olympic games, beating Algeria's Chouaib Bouloudinat, Cuba's Dainier Peró, Kazakhstan's Kamshybek Kunkabayev before falling to Uzbekistan's Bakhodir Jalolov in the gold-medal match.

Torrez is the third Tulare resident to win an Olympic medal, joining local legends Bob Mathias and Sim Iness.

Mathias is a two-time gold medalist in the decathlon (1948, 1952). Iness won the gold medal in the discus throw in 1952. Torrez is the first Tulare native to capture an Olympic medal in nearly 70 years.

Torrez culminated his amateur career with an overall record of 154-10.

The support for Torrez has poured in since he arrived back home to Tulare this summer. 

In August, the hometown hero was welcomed with a parade in Tulare. He was also recognized at a Fresno State football game and has appeared in commercials for Kaweah Health to promote COVID-19 vaccinations.

On Sunday night, Torrez was invited to watch the Los Angeles Chargers' NFL game against the Pittsburgh Steelers at SoFi Stadium. Torrez even got to meet rapper Snoop Dogg.

"I remember when I was at the Olympics, my friend asked me, 'How does it feel to be an Olympic medalist?' " Torrez said. "And I told him, 'You know how it feels when you turn 18 and nothing really changes?' That's kind of how I felt when I was in Japan, you know, but as soon as I got back home, the amount of support, the appreciation that everyone's given me, it's just been tremendous. I really can't thank everybody enough. All I do is punch people for a living, but it really made me feel at home, having all that support and appreciation."

Fighting for dad

Hailing from a boxing family, Torrez was trained by his father, Richard Torrez Sr.

One of the reasons Torrez decided to turn pro was because of his dad.

At the Olympics, because Torrez Sr. wasn't a member of the U.S. Boxing coaching staff, he was not allowed to be in his corner.

Now a pro, Torrez Sr. is going to serve as his son's coach. Torrez Sr. is currently the dean of students at Mission Oak.

In preparation for the Olympics, Torrez spent the past four years training at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, but will now be based out of Tulare, training with his dad at the family's gym — the Tulare Athletic Boxing Club.

"Going pro, the biggest thing wasn't the money honestly," Torrez said. "The biggest thing was being able to have my dad in my corner. My dad still works, and so I wasn't able to stay with the United States team because my dad wouldn't have been able to be in my corner. No sly to coach Billy [Walsh] and the guys from USA Boxing, but the way our times are set up, it wasn't a possibility. So now, with me turning pro, I'll be able to stay in the Valley and have my dad train me."

What's it like to fight with his dad by his side?

"It's awesome, you know, it's something we've dreamed about our entire lives, being able to be in the ring together," Torrez said. "I had it set up in my mind that, 'If my dad wasn't in my corner, I wouldn't box.' My dad gave me the go-aheads for the Olympics while I was an amateur training with the USA team, but now that we're pro and we have our own business now, I wouldn't have it any other way."

Torrez's success has inspired the Mission Oak community.

The Hawks' volleyball team won a Central Section Division IV title earlier this month, and the football program posted its first 10-win season in nearly a decade.

What's his advice for up-and-coming athletes?

"My biggest thing that I really talk about to everybody that I meet is, 'Consistency,' " Torrez said. "I don't really believe in some magic pill or magic potion that's going to make you what you want to be. Being consistent and just starting, finding something that you like, trying a lot of things and if you don't like anything, once you do find that one thing that you do like, just be consistent at it. You don't have to be great to start but you have to start in order to be great. That's one of the things I live by."

Vongni Yang is a sports reporter for the Visalia Times-Delta/Tulare Advance-Register. He covers Tulare County sports. Follow him on Twitter @Vongni. To support his continued coverage of local sports, subscribe today.

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