Is Boxer Richard Torrez Jr. The Next Great American Heavyweight?

It’s been a long time — actually a loooong time — since American fighters dominated boxing’s heavyweight division. Go back almost 30 years to the mid-1990s when Mike Tyson, Evander Holyfield and Riddick Bowe alternated their kingly position atop boxing’s most glamorous weight class. But that was so many moons ago.

For the past three decades, the non-U.S. heavyweights have ruled — Lennox Lewis (England), Vladimir Klitschko (Ukraine), Anthony Joshua (England) and Oleksandr Usyk (Ukraine). A couple Americans — Andy Ruiz and Deontay Wilder — provided nationalistic hope (and some U.S.A. chants) but their legacies mostly fizzled out. Ruiz lost control of his conditioning after his stunning KO of Joshua, and Wilder, once the scariest puncher in the game, ultimately got solved — and destroyed — courtesy of Britain’s Tyson Fury.

But, as Yoda once said, there is another, and that could be Richard Torrez Jr., a third-generation boxer from Tulare, Calif. who won silver at the 2020 Olympics and is a two-time U.S. National Championships gold medalist.

Torrez — a southpaw with dynamite in both hands — has built a sparking 12-0 record with 11 KOs, with most of those wins coming against second-tier or lower competition.

On Saturday, Torrez is leveling up to face Italy’s Guido Vianello, whose prospect pedigree has faded in recent years but still is considered the biggest challenge of the American’s career. The fight will take place in Las Vegas and air on ESPN+ in the U.S.

Here’s a look at the staredown:

“The most exciting part of this is that he is a worthy opponent,” Torrez said of Vianello. “He has a name. We’re both working towards something.”

Vianello (13-2-1, 11 KOs) is the perfect test for Torrez. The Italian fighter is a crafty boxer who can swat and is riding high after obliterating fearsome Arslanbek Makhmudov in his most recent bout last August. Vianello’s most noteworthy performance actually occurred in a split-decision loss to hulking Efe Ajagba. It was in that bout that Vianello showcased serious skills and scrappiness.

The Torrez-Vianello bout offers a compelling contrast in styles. Torrez has a little Mike Tyson in him — a stocky 6-foot-2 steamroller who bullies his way inside with rib-crunching hooks. Here he is in action:

Meanwhile, the 6-foot-6 Vianello snaps a long jab and searches for angles to land a potent right hand. He will look to keep Torrez on the outside while also emptying his gas tank. Torrez has fought beyond five rounds just once during his career while Vianello has gone to round seven and beyond in five of his last six fights and stopped Makhmudov in round eight.

“The fight with Arslanbek Makhmudov was just a warm-up for me,” Vianello said. “It was an easy fight. Now, my pro career is getting started.”

Torrez, who scored dominant wins over unbeaten Brandon Moore and fringe prospect Isaac Munoz, knows Vianello is no stepping-stone. “This is something I’ve been working toward for a long time,” Torrez told legendary boxing scribe Dan Rafael. “I want to prove that I’m the best heavyweight out there and show what American heavyweights are made of. When they offered me Guido, I didn’t hesitate. I’m ready to go.”

And if Torrez beats Vianello in sensational fashion, then the buzz may start — that Torrez may just be the next great American heavyweight (finally).