Richard Torrez Jr. (10-0, 10 KOs) did exactly what he said he would do, and that was put on a show for his return to California. Torrez earned a fifth-round TKO victory over a tough Brandon Moore (14-3, 8 KOs) to highlight the undercard before the ESPN telecast.
In the first round, it was rough as both fighters were throwing bombs but were missing most of the time, and then it would lead to a hold. Torrez started to increase his offense and land an overhand right in the second round while also coming into his left with a left hook. Norman was applying pressure, but mainly on the receiving end of punches.
Torrez started to land bigger, cleaner shots, while Moore had barely thrown any punches back in the third and fourth rounds. In the fifth round, Torrez landed a straight left hand that sent Moore down like a tree being cut down. Moore would get up, but Torrez would jump all over him, and Moore’s corner would throw in the towel.
If you went by the sound of the crowd, you would have thought Jonny Mansour (1-0) had just finished winning a world title, but that wasn’t the case as he earned a less than entertaining unanimous decision over Anel Dudo (3-6, 1 KO). All three judges saw this one 40-36 in favor of Mansour. He had half the Arena chanting his name, but his performance was more showy combinations in spots than anything else.
Mansour started aggressively but was getting cute with his punches and not bringing his hands back in the first round. He quickly learned that it was something he needed to stop doing as Dudo landed a few right hands that got Mansour’s attention. Mansour would land flurries to win the second round, but nothing hurt Dudo. Mansour was doing too much showboating and not enough offense in the third and fourth rounds, which sent this fight to a decision. On a pro debut, you would want a fighter to go for it more, but Mansour played a little too safe instead.
The Emiliano Fernando Vargas (10-0, 8 KOs) train is coming fast, and he showed growth in his sixth-round knockout victory over Angel Varela (10-3, 7 KOs).
Vargas showed a solid left jab and an overhand right that hurt Varela in the first round. When Vargas switched to southpaw, he started to land harder punches. Vargas stabbed to the body with a right jab and stunned Varela on multiple occasions. In the second round, Vargas kept changing his stance and the levels of his punching attack. He was really thinking in there and used smart combinations while not wasting any punches. Vargas continued to dominate from the southpaw stance in the third and fourth rounds, showing that he has become a real thinker inside the ring. After taking a ton of punishment from Vargas, referee Ray Corona saw enough and stopped the fight.
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