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Torres results

Staff Reports

The broken knuckles and deep bruises don’t hurt as much when you’re winning.

Hector Torres’ confidence is back and so are the frequency of his triumphs. The 175-pound South Lake Tahoe pugilist won a unanimous five-round decision from John Jones on Friday night in Oroville, Calif.

The only disappointment for Torres as he posted his fourth pro win without a loss was a missing knockout.



“I saw him before the fight and he almost looked like Mike Tyson. He’s a big, stocky bald-headed guy that had a pretty good forehead,” Torres said. “When I stepped into the ring I thought I was in for a good one.

“The guy had a pretty good forehead. I jammed my knuckle and my shoulder blade I was putting so much force into my punches.”



Despite the pain and variety, Torres came away from the battle with a smile on his face and renewed confidence.

“I never enjoyed fighting as much as I did this time,” the 29-year-old Torres said. “I’m normally a mellow fighter who concentrates on fighting. This time, I was pumping up the crowd after each round. It was pretty exciting.”

All in a day’s work for Torres, who fulfilled his eight-hour shift at Harveys and then drove to Oroville before Friday’s bout.

“I looked at like I just got off work and I had another job to do,” Torres said.

Torres’ good fortune didn’t rub off on his older brother, Juan, the next day in Del Mar, Calif. The South Lake Tahoe boxer/kickboxer lost an eight-round split decision to unbeaten 135-pounder Steve Forbes.

One judge scored the fight decisively in Torres’ favor, another other handedly to Forbes and the final judge awarded Forbes a one-point win, according to Torres.

“It was a war. We both went to town and he came out with the victory,” said Torres (13-8). “I worked his body and kept him at bay with the jab. But he did a lot of good fighting outside.”

Both fighters had opportunities to score a knockout.

“He almost had me down in the fourth round. I was able to keep the pressure going, even though I wasn’t really there,” Torres said. “I almost had him down in the third, fifth and sixth rounds.”

With boxing activity picking up, the Torres brothers expect to fight again in February.

“I’m not discouraged by the loss,” Juan Torres said. “Winning and losing mean little as long as I put forth a good effort.”

What disappointed Juan Torres, though, was seeing a Tijuana, Mexico, challenger win the USBA 135-pound title Saturday night following his bout. As late as Thursday Torres was on standby to fill in for the challenger, who had legal trouble entering this country.

“It’s the luck of the draw. It wasn’t meant for me. Instead I ended up with a tougher fighter,” Torres said.


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