• Age: 28 (2-16-80)
• Residence: Barranquilla, Colombia
• Birthplace: Magangue, Colombia
• Record: 32-1, 28 KOs
• Height: 5’9.5”
• Manager: Billy Chams
• Trainer: Orlando Pineda

RICARDO “Mochuelo” TORRES (32-1, 28 KOs)…

World championship fights: 3-1, 1 KO...

WBO jr. welterweight world champion, two successful defenses...

Former jr. welterweight world title challenger...

At the age of 28, Ricardo is a seven-year pro. The WBO jr. welterweight world champion, he won the title in November, 2006, and has made two successful title defenses.

He has now won four fights in a row, which include his two career-best wins against Kendall Holt in his last fight in September, 2007, and Mike Arnaoutis in November, 2006.

The rematch against Holt will be Ricardo’s third fight in the U.S.

He made his U.S. debut when he first challenged for a world title in September, 2005, against then-WBO jr. welterweight champion Miguel Cotto. It was a sensational battle, one of the best of the year - Ricardo knocked down Cotto in the second round and staggered him twice, but Cotto scored four knockdowns before the referee stopped the fight in the seventh round. It was Ricardo’s only loss as a pro.

Ricardo didn’t receive much fanfare before the fight - he was a late substitute and complete unknown in the States - but he gained a legion of fans with his performance.

Boxing News reported, “Torres took the fight on three weeks’ notice, after Gianluca Branco fell out. What a warrior.”

Thomas Gerbasi of MaxBoxing.com wrote, “His record may have been built on unknown names, but with the same heart and power exhibited by the champion, this native of Magangue made an unforgettable impression on his first trip to the championship mountain.”

Manager Billy Chams said, “Ricardo has a very good style. He’s a good boxer, but he can punch, too.

“Ricardo is very well-known here in Colombia and Latin America, and everybody in the United States will know him, too.”

Regarding Ricardo’s nickname, Chams said, “Mochuelo is because when he was seven years old, he was in his little house in town, do you know what is iguana, a small green reptile? He bit off one little piece of his index finger on his right hand. ‘Mochuelo’ is like when people here doesn’t have a leg or an arm, you call him ‘Mocho.’ It’s funny, because when we went into the United States, you need to put the fingerprint in to go into immigration, and he need to put the other finger.”

Ricardo said, “A trainer in my town started calling me ‘Mochuelo,’ and now everybody calls me that.”

Key Fights – 2007 – 2ND WBO JW WORLD TITLE DEFENSE - in his last fight on 9-1-07 in Barranquilla, COL, he TKO’d Kendall Holt (22-1): Ricardo constantly pressed forward, but Holt boxed and moved effectively and won the first three rounds on two scorecards; Ricardo rallied and swept the 4th and 5th rounds on all three, but Holt dominated the middle rounds – he scored a knockdown with a left hook-right hand combination that put Ricardo flat on his back late in the 6th, swept the 7th round on all three scorecards, then won the 8th and 9th on two scorecards; Ricardo came back and won the 10th on two scorecards, then scored a knockdown with a left hook in the 11th round – HOlt got up, but Torres rocked him with a series of punches and the referee stopped the fight at 2:24; after 10 rounds, Holt led by scores of 98-91, 95-94 Holt, 95-94 Torres; after the fight, Ricardo said, “I was aware that I was down by two or three points, so I gambled in the tenth and eleventh rounds. I exposed myself, but landed the punches that put Holt in bad shape. He was a tough opponent, and his strength and stamina really afected me.”...

1ST WBO JW WORLD TITLE DEFENSE – on 4-28-07 in Barranquilla he won a 12 round unanimous decision against Arturo Morua (24-8-1): Ricardo consistently outworked Morua, landed the sharper punches, and dominated the fight; scored 120-108, 120-109, 118-110...

2006 – WON VACANT WBO JW WORLD TITLE – on 11-18-06 in Las Vegas, NV, he won a 12 round split decision against previously undefeated lefthander Mike Arnaoutis (17-0-2): the bout was on the undercard of the Manny Pacquiao-Erik Morales III main event at the Thomas & Mack Center, and it was a very close fight; Ricardo pressed forward in the early rounds, outworked Arnaoutis, and built a lead - after six rounds, the fight was scored 59-55, 58-56 Torres, 57-57; Arnaoutis scored a knockdown with a left hand-right hook combination that left Ricardo dazed in the 7th round, but appeared to look for one big punch after that; Ricardo recovered quickly, then began to box and move and swept the 8th, 9th, and 10th rounds on all three scorecards; Arnaoutis finished the fight strongly – he won the 11th on two scorecards, then staggered Ricardo and swept the 12th round, as well; some ringsiders thought Arnaoutis deserved to win, but the judges scored 116-111, 114-113 Torres, 114-113 Arnaoutis...

On 6-30-06 in Barranquilla, COL, he knocked out Carlos Donquis (12-3): in the 2nd round...

2005 – WBO JW WORLD TITLE CHALLENGE – on 9-24-05 in Atlantic City, NJ, he was knocked out against defending champion Miguel Cotto (24-0): the bout was co-featured with the Wladimir Klitschko-Samuel Peter main event at Boardwalk Hall, and it was a great fight with dramatic shifts of momentum; Cotto fought aggressively and started fast - he scored a knockdown midway through the 1st round, but Ricardo came back and staggered Cotto early in the 2nd, then scored a knockdown midway through the round - Cotto got up and Ricardo attacked furiously, but Cotto weathered the storm and staggered Ricardo late in the round; Cotto wore down Ricardo with a relentless body attack, and scored another knockdown in the 4th round, but Ricardo rallied again and staggered Cotto midway throught the 5th; Cotto recovered and scored a knockdown in the 6th, then scored another knockdown in the 7th round – Ricardo got up but was unsteady, and the referee stopped the fight at 1:52; after six rounds, Cotto led by scores of 57-53, 57-53, 56-53; after the fight, Ricardo said, “I had him hurt, and I couldn’t put him away.”...

On 8-5-05 in San Juan, PR, he TKO’d Edwin Vazquez (20-8-2): the bout headlined at the Coliseo Pedrin Zorrilla, and Ricardo dominated the fight; he rocked Vazquez in the 1st round; Vazquez, coming off his career-best win against 2000 Puerto Rican Olympian Ruben Fuchu the previous October, gave a good effort and kept fighting hard, but Ricardo staggered him again with a series of punches in the 3rd and the referee stopped the fight at 2:43...

On 6-10-05 in Barranquilla, COL, he knocked out Ulises Villalobos (2-4): at 2:30 of the 2nd round…

On 3-18-05 in Cartagena, COL, he knocked out Reynaldo Esquivia (7-2): in the 1st round…

2004 - on 10-29-04 in Barranquilla he knocked out Ignacio Solar (19-7): Ricardo was knocked down in the 1st round, but came came back to knock down Solar in the 3rd; Ricardo scored another knockdown in the 5th round, and the referee stopped the fight…

vOn 6-14-04 in Barranquilla he knocked out Luis Cardoza in the 1st round…

On 5-7-04 in Puerto Colombia, COL, he knocked out Reynaldo Duran in the 1st round…

2003 - on 9-27-03 in Barranquilla he won a 10 round decision against Facundo Tolosa (11-4-1)…

On 8-22-03 in Barranquilla he TKO’d Placido Coneo in the 2nd round…

On 8-9-03 in Cartagena he knocked out Eliseo Feria in the 2nd round…

On 7-16-03 in Barranquilla he knocked out Manuel Dominguez in the 3rd round…

On 6-14-03 in Barranquilla he knocked out Gilberto Mena in the 4th round…

On 4-25-03 in Barranquilla he knocked out Emilio Julio in the 3rd round…

On 4-4-03 in Barranquilla he knocked out Feder Guerrero in the 3rd round…

On 3-14-03 in Barranquilla he knocked out Reynaldo Duran in the 4th round…

He debuted at the age of 21 on 3-30-01…

AMATEUR, PERSONAL BACKGROUND: Ricardo said through an interpreter, “I was born in a little town called Magangue. It’s on the Caribbean coast, it’s about a three-hour drive from Barranquilla. I have two sisters and six brothers. My father is a fisherman. He also has a very small farm, and he works the land. I grew up on the farm, and helped him with the work. My brother, Jose Miguel, is a professional fighter.

“My father likes boxing very much, and when I was nine he started to teach me and my brother how to throw punches. When I was 11, my father took us to the little gym that we had in the town. I had about 135 amateur fights. I had five losses. I only lost one time in Colombia, and had four other losses outside of the country.

“I won two national junior titles in Colombia, two under-18 titles, and one senior title. I also won a tournament in Mexico.

“I’m a fulltime fighter. I’m single, but I have two children – one son and one daughter.”

2000 America’s Olympic Qualifier - 132 pounds, single elimination tournament: in his first fight on 3-27-00 in Tampa, Fla., he lost a 9-3 decision against Miguel Cotto of Puerto Rico; looking back, Ricardo said, “When I fought Cotto, it was very good and tough fight. In the final round, the computer said he threw more punches than me, so he won. But it was a very close fight.”...

STRENGTHS: Has an aggressive style, good skills and movement…has good handspeed and punching power…is experienced against top opposition...had a strong amateur background…

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE: 33 fights...121 total rounds...42 world championship rounds...

AVERAGE LENGTH OF BOUTS: 3.6 rounds...

KNOCKOUT PERCENTAGE: 87 %...

DISTANCE FIGHTS: 12 rounds – 2 (2-0)…11 rounds – 1 (1-0)...10 rounds - 1 (1-0)...