Ringside Report Looks Back at Amateur Boxer Ricardo Torres

By Donald “Braveheart” Stewart

The cliché is that history is written by the victors. Those who do not command headlines in their prime tend not to have eulogies prepared well in advance of their demise. Like all sports, boxing is filled with nearly men. There are fighters who faltered and flattered, often in equal measure and then found themselves lost in a gym, on the wrong end of forgetfulness.
Each one has a story to tell. In fact, the one who sits quietly and does not make too much noise can be the one whose roar is the most fascinating.

But there are then gaps in the history of boxing and no matter how much you try and fill them, you come up short. The writers of the time have filed their copy, but it has not made the archives. And so, you look at the career of a boxer and wonder – can I write anything worthy of their time at all?

Ricardo Carreras, 2-0, 2 KOs, represented the USA at the 1972 Munich Olympics. He wore the badge with such pride that he came away with a bronze medal. The year before he won the North American (AAU) Championships at bantamweight. A native of New York City, it is widely believed that he still resides there and is now in his 70s. After retiring from boxing, he worked for the US postal service.

And this is where the story from here becomes even more fascinating. I don’t know much more. This is a guy who boxed for his service and his nation and then slunk away from the limelight and has left me with loads of questions. But rather than ignore an Olympian, I thought what the hell, let’s see what we do know.

We know, that following a bye in the first round of 32, he stopped the Australian Michael O’Brien in the third round at Munich. Then came the Mongolian Buyangiin Ganbat who he beat by decision before his quarter final decision win against the Soviet Union’s Vassily Solomin. His progress was halted at the semifinal stage when he lost to the eventual silver medalist, Alfonso Zamora.

The 1972 US Olympic boxing team was not the heralding of a golden time. It was a poor Olympics by their high standards. Carreras was one of only four to medal. Only one was gold. As well as Carreras, Ray Seales got that gold at light welterweight and Jesse Valdez at welterweight and Marvin Johnson at middleweight also got bronze. It was also the games that Teofilo Stevenson of Cuba stopped Duane Bobick in the heavyweight quarter final.

“The Real Cat” also served in the Air Force. It was whilst serving that his amateur career clearly took off. He boxed for his service and as well as participating in the 1971 Pan American Games, he was the 3 times all service champion in 69, 71 and 72, won a silver medal in the Conseil International du Sport Militaire (CISM) and was the 3-time Air Force champion.

He only fought twice as a professional. And so, his debut was followed by his final fight. His debut was on the 21st of April 1978 in Flushing Queens when he stopped Cletus Hayes in the 5th round of a scheduled 6. 5 months later in Vincent’s Place, New York, he knocked out Roberto Velasquez in the 3rd round. He retired undefeated!

How many professionals can boast that? And that is far as I managed to get. Why only two fights? Why turn pro 6 years after the Olympics? There are so many questions sitting in my mind, but what cannot be lost is the fact that a hard-working amateur scaled the Olympic heights, and he brought home a rare prize – a medal from Munich for the USA, in boxing! That deserves all the praise right there…

Click Here to Order Boxing Interviews Of A Lifetime By “Bad” Brad Berkwitt