Richard Torrez Jr. too much for Willie Jake Jr., displaying power punches in TKO win

In his first fight since February, Richard Torrez Jr. picked up where he left off.

The Tulare native stopped Willie Jake Jr. in the first round of the scheduled six-rounder on the undercard of the Emanuel Navarrete-Oscar Valdez main event at Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale, Ariz.

The time of the stoppage was 1:22 seconds.

“It’s great to be back in the ring after so much time off,” Torrez said. “There are still things we need to work on, and I know that. We’re going back to the gym tomorrow. It’s up to my team to decide when my next fight is. They tell me to jump, and I say, ‘How high?’ I’m just excited to follow the process.”

Torrez (6-0) was too powerful for Jake Jr., when he connected with a right hand to the chin that sent his opponent to the canvas.

Jake continued the fight, but Torrez landed several shots against the ropes and referee Robert Hoyle waved off the fight.

Torrez won all his fights by knockouts.

Torrez was supposed to fight on the Jose Ramirez’s undercard in March at the Save Mart Center, but had to withdraw because of a torn oblique.