Speaker 1: All right, special edition of the Fight Preach You Night
podcast as we come your way in midweek with the
former silver medalists for the United States and the Olympics
unbeaten heavyweight and he's right here with me midweek. Hello,
Richard Torrez. Good to have you here on our podcast feat.
Normally I have Dan Rayfield with me and I have
to put up with him. Rayfield's not able to be
here on this. We won't bang on him too much
for him not being here. But it's good to have
you here, and I'm glad that I get the chance
to talk to you off of your win the other night.
Speaker 2: How are things off your victory the other night.
Speaker 3: It's good to be here, Thank you, man. I feel
good after I win, you know. I'm I feel like
camp went really well and we were able to show
it in the ring, and I think I was able
to show a little bit different side to who I
am as a fighter, and I'm grateful for it.
Speaker 1: So again, if people were not familiar, you won in
the co feature fight over Joey Deweco. You're eleven straight
victory as a professional. Doweco actually got disqualified. We're going
to talk about that in a moment or two in
the co feature fight at Glen Day, Arizona, to keep
your record undefeated overall. Right, now, you're active if you
have fought three times already this year. Are you happy
with the progress that you're making, especially in twenty twenty four?
Speaker 3: I am. I am happy with the progress I'm making,
you know. I feel like I have a really good
team behind me, with top branking in ESPN. I feel
like I've been able to be on a couple of
different platforms and to be able to be on actually ESPN,
not just ESPN Plus and have my friends watching all
over the TV. That was amazing.
Speaker 2: Man.
Speaker 3: I feel like the competition is starting to step up
as well, and I have nothing bad to say. You know,
I'm here for you and I'm following the process.
Speaker 2: Yeah, no doubt about that. Okay.
Speaker 1: So Dan was saying this going into the fight that
Deweca was probably the most accomplished fighter or the most
veteran fighter you you have faced to this point. How
did you find it in that fight? He's obviously big
and that was a bit of a challenge, But how
did you find it back on Friday night going against
him head to head?
Speaker 3: You know, He's really quick, slick with the punches. He
slicked with his head movement. He almost kind of loads
you in. There was a couple of times he did
a little some veteran moves, like he would talk and
he would try to give me to be in conversation,
then he'd throw a punch. So it was kind of
it was kind of interesting to be like that. You know,
it was interesting to be in the atmosphere, but you know, overall,
it was it's boxing. At the end of the day,
I was able to follow the game plan still, and
the biggest thing that my coach was telling me was
to not get greedy. You know, I felt like I
could land any punch I wanted to, and I just
I couldn't stop and look after my shots. And I
had to be beat this responsible after.
Speaker 1: Through always learning and one of the old veteran tactics
is get you distracted even by talking. Don't talk to him,
just hit him right, hit him on it. It had
to get frustrating because it looked like to us, we're
not in there, we're not taking the punches.
Speaker 2: You guys throw and take the punches.
Speaker 1: But it looked like to us and even the ESPN
commentators were saying this, the Joy kept spitting his mouthpiece
out to get a break and frustrate you and cause
a delay. How did you keep your focus the second time,
the third time, the fourth time.
Speaker 2: That that's happening over and over again during the fight.
Speaker 3: You know, it was almost validation that conditioning was kicking in,
you know that I was like, Oh, this guy's getting
really tired now, you know, because you don't just spit
out your mouth peas for no reason. But I talked
to Joe after fight and he was saying that, he goes,
I wasn't doing it on purpose, he goes. I just
had never been hit with uppercuts like that. He goes,
I'm usually the guy that I don't get hit with
the uppercuts and getting hit with like getting hit like that,
He goes. I just couldn't see the shot coming and
then my mouth heats to fall out, he goes. He goes,
I wanted to fight, He's like, it's just he goes,
I've never been hit with the uppercuts like that, and
so I'm I'm not knocking that. I think it's hard
for me to say that that none of the mouth
piece drops were intentional but you know, I do think
he's better than fight, and I do think he came
for a fight. I don't think he wanted to go
out with the quh. But end of the day, that's
what happened. And even though my knock Gotti's gone, I'm
I haven't seen the last bell yet and I'm gonna
continue that going hopefully.
Speaker 2: I like that.
Speaker 1: I like that out look, you haven't seen the last
bill yet in all of your victories. I like that
way of looking at things. All right, So you have
an interesting story, not just the silver medal, but what's
led up to your background? Uh it is not every
day I'm not knocking fighters in general, but I get
to talk to somebody that was the valedictorian of his
high school class, which you were, and that also was
interested in theater and did you were you just in
a role or did you.
Speaker 2: Star in Beauty and the Beast?
Speaker 1: I need to know which, what's the what's the update
on the acting chops that you have as well as
being able to fight.
Speaker 3: So that was actually a dance recital, So we did
the Gaston song of Being the Beast and I was ballet.
So currently I'm actually in a tap dance class. I'm
taking American soiun lguage, tap dance, tennis, and a persuasion class.
I'm actually at my little community college right now doing
this interview. But yeah, I mean, I like, one of
my favorite quotes is live as if you were to
die today, learn as if you were to live forever,
you know, and Gandhi said that, and I kind of
stand true to that. All my parents are, I mean,
both my parents are teachers. My sister is also a teacher.
I'm like the black people of the family in that sense.
But they've really from a young age that instilled how
much education is, how important education is, and I just
love going to classes and learning a little bit new.
I think they kind of translate into the ring a
little bit, you know. Persuasion will help me with my interviews,
and tap dance and tennis kind of helped with my footwork.
And so I get a little break from boxing while
still benefiting in the ring.
Speaker 2: Love it.
Speaker 1: And by the way, you gave me so much there.
I don't know the last time that we've had a
fighter on who quoted Gandhi. That's outstanding. As the husband
of a twenty five year elementary school educator. Bravo to
your parents, your sister, and to all the teachers, by
the hundreds of thousands of educators that are out there,
Bravo to them. Your education is obviously still important to you,
not just diverse different stuff like tennis and like you said,
tap dancing for footwork, but your education is obviously still
important to you right now.
Speaker 3: Yeah. No, I like you. I and I mean it's
it's fun right now. You know. I don't know if
I'm really pursuing too much of a degree. Just yeah,
just staying active, staying in the in the mindset of
being able to learn, I think is one of the
most important things from you right now. And uh and
I'm loving it. You know, there's nothing there's nothing better
than getting uh a discount on your food here because
I got a student ID, you know, I get, I
go walk around, I get.
Speaker 1: Wait wait wait wait wait wait wait, we got a
pause right there. The guy that was fighting on top
ranked boxing on ESPN on national cable TV is proud
of the fact that he can get a discount on
the food at the community college because he's got the
student I.
Speaker 2: D that is tremendous. Richard Man, you know what do they.
Speaker 1: What do they make that's really good food at the
community college that you've got to get the good food.
Speaker 2: What do they have?
Speaker 3: But they actually have a couple of broken bars that
can eat and so and so in the sounds half off,
you know what I mean. So it's mind blowing. Man.
So I get I guess.
Speaker 2: Inflation is a real thing right now.
Speaker 1: If you've got one of these student IDs and you
can get.
Speaker 2: Half off, get half off. Bravo, bravo.
Speaker 1: On that. Richard Torres is hanging out with us on
the Fight Freaks Unit podcast Special one.
Speaker 2: Here TJ.
Speaker 1: Reeves hanging out with the former sil silver medals in
the Olympics. All right, that experience to have won a
silver medal in the Olympics, what was that like? What
did it teach you in preparing you to be a professional.
Speaker 3: I think it gave me a lot of experience on
how to handle different fighters. You know. I got from Africa,
thought a guy from UH, from Asia, thought a guy
from like from the America, as I thought, like all
over different continents and uh and for all the shapes
and sizes, and they're all like the best of those sizes,
you know, Like I thought the best six to seven
years guy. I fought the best, bigger like guy that
can move, you know. So I think that the amateurs
really taught me and uh and gave me the ability
on how to adapt and conquer and uh, you know
whenning's still a touchy subject because you don't win the
story medal, you lose the so you lose and get
you lose, you lose the gold, right and so uh
and so like that was a rough day for me,
But I'm proud of my accomplishment. I'm probably was able
to do. I was a I think I was the
first guy to be a first American to be the
Cuban fighter since Andre Ward and I was the first
American heavyweight to win a medal since Ridic Bow in
eighty eight. And so I'm thankful to to kind of
bring that headway back for the US.
Speaker 2: To love all of that.
Speaker 1: And you fought John Off who is now also a professional,
and he was a professional and then came back obviously
into the Olympics. Is that somebody down the road that
you have your eye on or too soon to worry
about that stuff. The fact that you met him for
a gold medal. At one point it would be some
intrigue for what we do with podcasts and the internet
and TV and all of that. Is that a goal
to get him in the ring as a professional at
some point down the road?
Speaker 3: I think so, yeah, I would love to be able
to have that by the end, And I think it
would go a little differently now that we have a
lot more rounds and I could actually show my conditioning.
But end of the day, it's whoever in front of
me right now and whoever Toppering gives me. Those are
like kind of the fantasy fights that everyone would want
to see and I would too. But currently I'm falling
toppering proscess and I'm gonna pound with that.
Speaker 1: Okay, a couple more fun ones. Where's the silver medal?
I always wonder about these things. That's not an ordinary
trophy that goes on the trophy case or on the mantle.
That's a stinking Olympic metal. Where is that thing? Tell
me it's put away safely, or maybe you got it
on display in the house or something.
Speaker 2: What's going on?
Speaker 3: So my dad actually has his safe tucked away in
his house. He said he doesn't trust me with it
because I had it for a little bit as like
a coffee table orderment because like he's like, you walk
my apartment.
Speaker 1: Did you seriously put a beverage like on the super
metal as a coaster?
Speaker 3: Like no, just like I just had it. It was
like the centerpiece of my coffee table, you know what
I mean? Because like, no one was in my house,
No one comes in my apartment, no one does anything
like that. So all right, I put it right there
so I can see it every time I walk in.
The first time my dad walked in there, he said,
I'm taking this back, and he took it back and
hit it. And we don't really bring it out too much,
just keep it, keep it tucked away.
Speaker 1: That is that is a smart move by the elder
Torres there to go get that under control.
Speaker 2: Uh as we rock along with Richard Torres. All right,
a couple more.
Speaker 1: How soon do you want You've been very active three
fights as I'm mentioned already this year.
Speaker 2: How soon do you want to be back in.
Speaker 3: The ring before the end of the year. I want
to hopefully, uh soon as soon as like I love
fighting and hopefully I could continue this way so I
don't have to do a full camp again.
Speaker 1: You know, if you're analyzing Richard Torrez, What do you
need to improve on in the next fight, the next
coming couple of fights.
Speaker 2: What do you want to do better?
Speaker 3: I want to keep my hands up more. I think
in this last fight I had a pretty good range
of distance, but I was dropping my hands too much,
and even though I was rolling with some of the shots,
they were able to still them in UH and I
want to like I was looking at some of the
guys before and Canel and those guys that may keep
their hands up so high, you know, And so I'm
gonna try to be like that.
Speaker 1: Did you idolize anybody by the way, in recent boxing
or anything? Do you pattern yourself off of stuff that
other people that are famous? Maybe did anybody like that
in your background that you're you're trying to emulate a little.
Speaker 3: Bit, honey, guys, you know, I think all the USA fighters.
I like Keishaan Davis's bring general ship, I like I
like Tigers Tyer Johnson's quickness, I like Duke Reagan's jab,
I like Freddie Ross's boxing ability, I like Course Steveson's
double step back. I like UH and one guy. I
just like love this work. And with the reason I
started going to dance classes with Luma Chenko. You know,
I love what he does. I like Usik's mobility and
how he could uh after he throws a punch kits
out of the way both with head and feet. I
like Tyson's faints, uh teston furious faints. And I try
to kind of take what I like from all the
fighters and kind of put that into Richard Torres.
Speaker 2: Love it all.
Speaker 1: Right, So you're taking the community college classes, but you're
also back in the gym, or you're taking just a
slight break or when would you be back in the
gym or waiting for when the next fight might be.
Speaker 2: How does that work.
Speaker 3: I'm still doing my conditioning and anything like that. I'm
running four miles a day. I had that tennis and
tap dance. I'm in the weights room as well. I
still I went on Monday, I went to boxing as well,
you know, so I'll go to box to night. It's
a little more relaxed, but I'm still doing the workouts,
you know, so I'm not going as like on scale
one to ten. I've probably had like a six right
now of like how of effort. But I'm just continuing
to just try and listen.
Speaker 1: What a treat, What an absolute treat to get to
talk to you here as part of the Fight Preaks
Unit podcast. We wish you nothing but success, and if
you let us bother you again down the road, we'd
love to bother you in a good way and talk
more about the rise of your career. Good luck with
the tap, with the tennis, with the student discount at
the community college, for the food, and everything else.
Speaker 2: That's going on.
Speaker 1: We're eager to see more from Richard Torres. Thank you,
thank you for the time here, and good luck.
Speaker 3: To you anytime you have me on. Maybe so much