Top Rank’s star up-and-coming heavyweight Richard Torrez Jr. had to be content with a disqualification win in his eleventh professional contest.
The Olympic silver medalist held ten stoppages from ten wins before running into the stubborn Joey ‘The Tank’ Dawejko on Friday night. The co-feature occurred on the Jaime Munguia vs. Erik Bazinyan undercard in Glendale.
Torrez moved the needle to 11-0, 10 KOs, and pushed for the knockout with everything he had. Dawejko, who recently won the Team Combat League with Philadelphia, had other ideas.
The 25-year-old began by landing haymakers on Dawejko in the early sessions as his opponent’s gumshield kept popping out. In the fourth round, Dawejko had points deducted before war erupted in the fifth, and the same thing happened again. By this time, the third man in the ring waved off the fight for a DQ.
Dawejko’s disqualification saved him from a possible stoppage or another five rounds of punishment.
Discussing his victory, Richard Torrez Jr said, “Joey was a vet, just like I said. He didn’t give up. That mouthpiece just came out a little too much. That’s a veteran move, but at the end of the day, congratulations to him.
“He put up a good fight. We could show more of the boxing ability I was telling you about.”
Also on the card, Emiliano Fernando Vargas pushed to 12-0, 10 KOs. The youngster completed his hardest assignment yet when halting Irishman Larry Fryers in five.
“I learned experience. Every time I’m in the ring, I pick up more experience under my belt. You learn on the job. I don’t care what anyone says. There’s no video on how to be a professional fighter. I’m just blessed to do it here for the beautiful Arizona fans,” said Vargas.
Meanwhile, super featherweight Charly Suarez can now boast an 18-0, 10 KOs CV as he secured a WBO ranking title. Saurez took out veteran Jorge Castañeda in the third round.
At super-lightweight, Ricardo Fernandez upset previously unbeaten prospect Alan Garcia. Garcia had won every round until Fernandez ended the fight with a stunning finish.
DJ Zamora 80-72 twice and 79-73 over Gerardo Antonio Perez, prospect Steven Navarro TKO3 over Oscar Arroyo, and Jorge Garcia Perez 46 seconds of the first round against Ilias Essaoudi all enjoyed victories on the card.
Finally, rising Mexican Sebastian Hernandez moved to 17-0 with 15th consecutive knockout and 16th overall when taking out Yonfrez Parejo.
Read all articles and exclusive interviews by Phil Jay. Learn more about the author, experienced boxing writer, and World Boxing News Editor since 2010. Follow on Twitter @PhilJWBN.
