Richard Torrez: I’m like a bulldog off the leash, I see red when I get in the ring! | Boxing News

Richard Torrez might not be the biggest of heavyweights, but he’s determined to have a substantial impact.

The Olympic silver medallist has the fourth fight of his professional career against Ahmed Hefny, live on Sky Sports in the early hours of Sunday morning this weekend.

It only took him four rounds – in total – to win the three pro bouts he has had so far and the 23-year-old American intends to showcase the same kind of ferocity in his next fight.

“I see red when I get in the ring,” he told Sky Sports. “My dad [his trainer] likes to say I’m a bulldog on a leash and until he tells me to back off, he lets me go.

“Right now he doesn’t have the reins on me so I’m going to go.”

Outside of the ring, Torrez is a laidback presence. But he switches once the bell tolls.

“Boxing gives me an outlet where I can be myself outside of the ring and I don’t need to be pent up. I get to release all that energy and anger and badness in the ring,” he said.

“I do think that my speed, my conditioning, my tenacity in the ring is almost unmatched. I almost have to bring that down a bit to bring up my skill level once again.

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“I do think I always had some power, had some pop. But I wouldn’t say I’m Deontay Wilder, I wouldn’t say I had this thudding shot that could put down anybody. But I will say this. If one punch doesn’t hit you, the second, the third or the fourth one will and that’s what will make the difference,” he added.

“I think that’s the big difference between me and some of the other heavyweights. Some go for that one-shot knockout. I’m going to hit you with a flurry.”

The approach works for him. Not only did it take him all the way to a silver medal in Tokyo, it’s been delivering quick but action-packed wins as a pro.

He would like that journey through boxing to take him to the UK. “My dad used to call us gunslingers, we’d go from town to town trying to pick a fight,” he laughed.

“Wherever Top Rank [his promoter] wants me to go, wherever anyone wants me to go, I’ll be there. I’ll fight in hometowns, I’ll fight in backyards I’ll fight wherever you want me to.”

Torrez intends to reach the top of the American heavyweight division. “That’s a place I definitely want to be in and I will be in there soon. But for now I’m not worrying about rankings, I’m not worrying about anything like that. I’m worrying about my next fight and going out there and performing,” he said.

“One of the main reasons I signed with Top Rank was because of the way they build their fighters. They don’t just build fighters, they build legends,” he continued. “I want to be a legend in this game.

“I want to be known all over the boxing scene within the next year and within the next three years known throughout every household.”

Richard Torrez boxes on the Vasiliy Lomachenko vs Jamaine Ortiz undercard, live on Sky Sports Arena at 1am on Sunday morning.