MOBILE, AL -- San Jose's Eros Correa inched one step closer toward London with a 18-6 thrashing of Scottsdale, AZ's Marco Rangel in the second round of the U.S. Olympic Trials Monday morning.
"I was just waiting for [Rangel] in the middle of the ring," Correa told this writer immediately after the victory. "He never really could get inside. I kept using my jab and straight right."
The 18-year-old Correa now faces his sternest test in the light flyweight division, a Wednesday date with top-seeded 108-pounder Louie Byrd of Denver. The two have met before, with Byrd winning both meetings. However, their last encounter was a 21-21 draw in last month's U.S. Nationals that tipped in Byrd's favor solely due to the tiebreaker of punches counted.
"I’m going to beat [Byrd] the same way I did Rangel," a resolute Correa said. "I’m just going to keep the fight in the middle of the ring and outbox him."
Correa fights No. 1 light flyweight Louie Byrd of Denver on Wednesday.
Byrd has long been a fixture on the national scene, and in another close fight, concerns arise whether Correa will get a fair shake with the judges. The recent Overfelt High School graduate touched on the subject.
"I felt I won our last fight, but the judges didn't see it that way," he said. "Hopefully it doesn't happen again, but if that happens, it happens. It doesn’t bother me. If I know I won, I won, and I feel like this time, I'm going to win."
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