Guido Vianello says he’s going to defeat 2020 Olympic silver medalist heavyweight Richard Torrez Jr. with his “strong punches” this Saturday, April 5th, with their event starting at 5:30 p.m. ET/2:30 PT, live on ESPN+ from the Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas. The main event between Vianello (17-1, 14 KOs) and Torrez Jr. (13-2, 11 KOs) begins at approximately at 10:00 p.m. ET/7:00 p.m. PT.
The 6’6″ Vianello towered over the 6’2″ Torrez Jr. during today’s face-off, and they looked two divisions apart in size. Torrez Jr, 25, resembled a cruiserweight in size, and it’s going to be interesting to see if he can get to Vianello, 30, to knock him out like he’s been doing against most of his opponents.
The 2016 Italian Olympian Vianello suffered his only career defeat last year, losing a 10-round split decision to Efe Ajagba on April 13th in Corpus Christi, Texas. Vianello bounced back to stop Arslanbek Makhmudov in the eighth round in his last fight on August 17th.
Torrez Jr. has been looking unstoppable since turning pro in 2022. He seems to be getting better with each fight. He’s coming off a third-round knockout win over Issac Munoz
Gutierrez on December 7th.
“Now, it’s totally different. When you grow, you understand how the life is working and where you put your energy,” said Guido Vianello during today’s final press conference for his fight against Richard Torrez Jr. this Saturday night on April 5th. ”
My energy is only one way. Yeah, Makhmudov was just a warm-up for me. So, now is the start for my pro career. It was easy,” said Vianello about his eighth-round knockout victory over Arslanbek Makhmudov on August 17th last year.
Makhmudov, 35, had already been softened up by the time Vianello got to him, losing to Agit Kabayel by a fourth-round knockout in 2023. Vianello’s fight with Ajagba is more of a gauge of how well he’ll do against Torrez Jr. than the mismatch against Makhmudov.
“Richard is a very strong guy. He’s young like me. No, he’s younger. We’re two young guys. He has an Olympic [silver] medal. So, big respect for him. I love this. I thank Top Rank. It’s a dream for me,” said Guido about having his picture on a marquee on the street. “The Italian guy on the street. I don’t really care about this because I just think about myself. I’m inside me here and now. So, I don’t care about nothing else.
“I sparred with two Olympian guys in Italy. I sparred with two professional boxers in England. I sparred with one guy in Vegas. I did the hardest training camp ever. With my strong mind, my strong legs, and my strong punches. I have everything in this fight. Italian power,” said Vianello.
