Richard Torrez believes Tyson Fury should spar with him to prepare for the undisputed heavyweight championship fight with Oleksandr Usyk.
Torrez is small for a heavyweight like Usyk, and like the Ukrainian is a top-class southpaw. Torrez won a super-heavyweight silver medal at the last Olympic Games.
Now a professional prospect, he’ll box Curtis Harper this weekend, on the Robeisy Ramirez vs Rafael Espinoza bill live on Sky Sports.
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Richard Torrez Jr continued his perfect record in the professional ranks with a second round stoppage to make it seven knockouts in a row
After his fight he hopes Fury will bring him into his training camp. “I would love to,” he told Sky Sports. “If he could invite me to do some sparring I’d love that.
“Tyson Fury, please invite me over. I’m more than willing to come out and be a sparring partner. I’d love to get some of that work in.”
Fury has been a direct inspiration for Torrez. “When I was 18 he reached out to me on Instagram, he wrote to me and said, ‘I like your style, keep it going, good stuff’. That was so cool. He was already a heavyweight champ. He reached out to me and I wasn’t even known at all.
“He said, ‘good luck in everything you do, I’ve been watching you in the amateurs’. Oh man, that made my whole entire month.
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Torrez Jr showed once again he has dynamite in his hands as he caught Willie Jake Jr with a huge shot and then stopped him in the first round
“It was before the Olympics, before anyone had my name out there. It was him watching amateur boxing and reaching out. It was quite impressive and I’m really thankful for it.”
Torrez doesn’t box like Fury, his dimensions and amateur pedigree make him technically closer to Usyk.
“I don’t have [Fury’s] size and I don’t have his fighting style but he definitely is someone I look up to as how to conduct yourself when you are a champion,” Torrez said.
“Because he’s made himself the people’s champ and I really commend him for that.
“Tyson Fury has the charisma of one of the best champions. The way he’s able to talk, the way he’s able to banter, the way he’s able to just hold himself and conduct himself as the heavyweight champion is amazing,” he added.
“I’m thankful for what he’s done to the heavyweight game.”
Watch Richard Torrez on the Ramirez vs Espinoza bill live on Sky Sports Arena and Sky Sports Main Event from 1am on Sunday morning