Torrez Jr. crushed Salek, exclaims Itauma

2020 Olympic silver medalist Richard Torrez Jr. 14-0, 12 KOs) stole the show last Saturday night, scoring a lightning fast first round TKO victory over the 6’3 1/2″ Tomas Salek (23-8, 14 KOs) at the Arena Coliseo, San Luis Potosi, Mexico.

A one-round demolition

With his fight buried on the rock bottom of Top Rank’s Rafael Espinoza vs. Arnold Khegai card last night, the southpaw Torrez Jr. showed what pure vintage Mike Tyson-esque punching power can do, crushing the skilled Czech in the first round of what was supposed to be a moderately competitive fight.

In retrospect, Top Rank Torrez Jr. should have as the co-feature on the card, as he outscored the fighters above him, Emiliano Vargas and Lindolfo Delgado, by a long shot. Those guys don’t have the amateur blue-chip credentials that Torrez Jr. do not own

Salek’s nose broken

The 26-year-old Torrez Jr. backed Salek (27) to the corner and hit him with punches to the head and bread basket. Once he had his prey trapped, Salek cornered Torrez Jr. nailed him with a powerful left uppercut that straightened him out, then connected with a hard, nose-splitting right hook to the head, causing blood to pour out in rivers across his face.

The referee quickly stepped in and called a timeout to have Salek’s nose examined by the ring doctor. It was immediately clear that the match had to be stopped due to the severity of Salek’s injured mouth. The official stoppage time was 2:45 of round one.

“The quick result was because our camp went well,” Richard Torrez Jr. said. said. “We like to give the people a good show. I’m thankful we had a good camp. A win is a win, and we’ll be back in the gym tomorrow.”

Fans are divided on the win

Some boxing fans on social media were less than enthusiastic about Torrez Jr’s win, criticizing him for fighting a low-level opponent and taking his career into reverse after his recent lopsided 10-round unanimous decision victory over 2016 Olympian Guido Vianello on April 5, 2025.

Torrez Jr. ‘s promoters at Top Rank are still looking for a new broadcast platform for their fighters after their eight-year deal with ESPN expired last July. So it was not the time for Torrez Jr. to be beaten against one of the top contenders in the heavyweight division.

Itauma outcry revisited

Torrez Jr. in public called #1 WBA and WBO ranked contender Moses Itauma on September 17, 2025, say, “I want that Itauma fight. I think it will be a great fight. Everybody wants to know if he’s right for Usyk or not. Look at me, I’m a lefty. I’m a heavyweight. I move a lot. I have pressure. I punch a lot. Let’s see how it goes.”

Interestingly, there was silence from Itauma in response to the call from Torrez Jr. This should be interpreted as a sign that Itauma is not in the mood for the fight, as Torrez Jr. is a pure pressure fighter with power and a good chin.

Is Itauma the Kryptonite test?

As fans saw in Moses’ short, abbreviated amateur career, he struggled when he fought Greek heavyweight Stylianos Roulias at the 2022 IBA World Youth Championships Semi-Finals and was put under intense pressure. Richard Torrez Jr. could be Itauma’s kryptonite.