Heavyweight Brandon Moore gets the opportunity he's been waiting for in Richard Torrez's tournament

Brandon Moore has been waiting for his time to prove that he is the trusted one in the heavyweight division.

According to Moore, that moment will happen on Saturday night at the expense of Richard Torrez, which will make him successful in his career, in and out of the ring.

Moore will face Torrez in a tough matchup of unbeaten fighters at the Pechanga Arena in San Diego, California. The eight-round bout will feature three bouts Top quality on ESPN The match between Emanuel Navarrete and Denys Berinchyk will be between the WBO world lightweight belt.

ESPN (10 pm ET/ 7 pm PT) will air both fights, as well as a welterweight clash between undefeated welterweight Giovani Santillan, ranked No. 4 by The Ring at 147 pounds, and Brian Norman, Jr .

Both Moore (14-0, 8 knockouts) and Torrez were promoted by Top Rank. The winner would have the opportunity to face other undefeated or entrants in the division. According to DraftKings Sportsbook, as of Wednesday morning, Torrez is a -1200 favorite to beat Moore.

Despite being the underdog, Moore believes he will win.

“No disrespect to Torrez, but I'm going to destroy him,” Moore told The Ring last week. “I'm getting the hell out of him. He will come in like a bull and I want him to do that. All I know is that this fight will end with a knockdown.

“I know the odds are in his favor and he's 9-0, but he's acting like he should be a quality fight. This fight took place in San Diego and he is from California.”

Torrez (9-0, 9 KOs), who lives in Tulare, California, has collected knockouts in the first five rounds since receiving the medal in March 2022. Torrez won the 2021 Olympic silver medal, losing in the finals to Bakhodir Jalolov, also promoted. with Top Rank.

Both fighters share a common opponent in goalkeeper Curtis Harper, a southpaw Torrez stopped in the eighth round of their previous fight on December 9. Moore initially scored a one-sided decision over Harper on April 22, but the fight was changed to a no. – decision on January 24 of last year.

Moore believes he has fought the better opposition of the two fighters, and has accomplished more in the ring having spent less time in the ring overall than Torrez.

“I don't think he's had any more fights than I've had,” said Moore, who is managed by Ryan Rickey. “I get better when the level of competition increases. I don't think you've ever faced anyone on my level. My background is that I fought for six years and had a difficult road. He is 24 years old and has been an amateur for 16 years.

“I believe that I am a perfect fighter. Look at each of my fights where I won all the rounds. In 5-6 fights, I've fought guys who used veteran tactics to avoid being beaten. I want to be in real fights fighting guys who want to win and not go in thinking they've lost.”

Moore, 30, who is trained by Marco Fazzini at Winter Haven Boxing, the oldest boxing gym in Florida, has left the likes of Tyson Fury, Luis Ortiz, Deontay Wilder and Jared Anderson.

Moore comes from a sports background. He was a college basketball player at Southeastern University, where he was named the Sun Conference Freshmen of the Year in 2013. His younger brother, Shaq Moore, is a member of the United States Men's National Soccer team, and plays for a Major League Soccer team. Nashville FC.

The 30-year-old recently starred in a documentary by Steven Styles, explaining his growth in boxing and his plans for the future in the sport.

Moore believes that signing a promotional deal with Top Rank will allow him to get the fights he wants in his move up the heavyweight division.

“I'm very grateful for this opportunity,” said Moore. “Top Rank is one of the best promoters in the world and they build champions. My team did the research and I was blessed to work with them. They believe in me and I am confident that I can be the face of the company.

Moore was born and raised in Lakeland, Florida. After hanging up his gloves, Moore would like to get involved in the community, even considering running for public office.

“I'm smarter than these heavyweights, I'm in and out of the ring. I look at boxing as a stepping stone. I want more. I would like to run for public office in Lakeland or Polk County.

“I want to be a heavyweight world champion, but this is bigger than boxing. I want to be an example. I am 6'6”. I want to inspire young people, talk to them and tell them to achieve their dreams.

“I want to take this job as far as I can go.”

Francisco A. Salazar has written for The Ring since October 2013 and has handled boxing in Southern California and internationally since 2000. Francisco also covers boxing for the Ventura County (California) Star newspaper. They can be reached at [email protected]

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