MOBILE, AL -- I was able to catch up with San Jose light flyweight Eros Correa mere hours before his appearance in the finals of the U.S. Olympic Trials Friday.
Fresh off a Wednesday upset of top-ranked Louie Byrd of Denver, the 18-year-old Correa only needs to beat Reno’s Santos Vasquez once to claim the gold, whereas Vasquez must defeat him twice after already incurring one loss earlier in the double-elimination tournament.
The last Bay Area fighter to win the Olympic Trials was Andre Ward in 2004, and Correa hopes to join him tonight.
EROS CORREA, LIGHT FLYWEIGHT (SAN JOSE PAL)
ON MAKING WEIGHT:
“I was right on the dot at 108 pounds. Now I’m eating what I always eat before a fight, a ham sandwich from Subway. No mayo. Just oil, vinegar, lettuce, tomatoes, onions, pickles, jalapeño, on wheat bread. It’s my routine.”
ON HIS OPPONENT, SANTOS VASQUEZ:
“We’re pretty good friends. We’ve been sparring before tournaments a few times. As far as fighting each other, we fought twice. He’s strong. Every punch he throws is hard. He beat me in the [Golden] Gloves and USA Nationals last year, so we haven’t fought in a while. But my boxing style has changed since last year, so I’m not nervous this time.”
ON NEUTRALIZING VASQUEZ’S STYLE:
“I’m going to do the same thing I did with Louie Byrd, keep him away. I’m going to box him on my toes, and step back and move to the side before he can hit me. I have to let my hands go first. Using my reach is the key here.”
ON THE SUPPORT HE’S RECEIVED:
“My family’s happy. They tell me one more win and you’re an Olympian. Something like that hasn’t hit me yet, because we still have to qualify at worlds, but still. Number one in the nation. I’ve thought about it in the past and wished for it before, but now that it’s here, wow, I don’t know what to say except I still have to keep going and win.”
ON HIS FRIENDSHIP WITH LARON MITCHELL:
“LaRon’s been doing good, too, and it’s been great that we’re both in the finals. Every time I see him here, at the hotel or anywhere, we say, ‘Let’s take it home to the Bay Area.”
ON PREDICTING TONIGHT’S OUTCOME:
“This is my final. I want to win. I’m going to win.”
CANDELARIA “CANDY” LOPEZ, CORREA’S TRAINER (SAN JOSE PAL)
ON MATCHING UP WITH VASQUEZ:
“Eros’s style is suited for Olympic-style boxing. He can throw jabs in distance, whereas Santos will stand and trade. He lost by a one-point decision to Santos last time they fought. Now he’s going to use his lateral movement and give him angles, and I think he’ll win it this time around.”
ON CORREA MAKING THE OLYMPIC TEAM WITH A WIN:
“I helped coach the Olympic Team in 2000, and it’s the culmination of any coach to actually develop an Olympian. I’ve been doing it for 37 years, and this is the ultimate. For him to do it, this is amazing. Unfortunately, I’m back here in San Jose, but the man who taught him first how to fight, Martin Nuñez, is there with him. Everybody here’s fired up, keeping tabs on the internet. They’re all watching to see if he can do it. Thank you, Ryan, for covering his story since the beginning. We’re all proud of Eros.”
Ryan Maquiñana is the boxing correspondent at Comcast SportsNet Bay Area and a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America. E-mail him at rmaquinana@gmail.com, check out his blog at www.maqdown.com or follow him on Twitter: @RMaq28.
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