Tony Corrales was bigger, faster, stronger, quicker.
He rather expectedly gave up a few years in age - four to be exact - but he certainly didn't give up any ring experience.
Corrales, 17, defeated 21-year-old Angelo Torres of Sacramento by a unanimous decision last weekend at the Central Pacific Golden Gloves regional tournament at the Veterans Memorial Building in Tulare.
Although no official score was reported, of the five judges that scored the fight, four of them voted in favor of Corrales.
The Hollister boxer, representing the 141-pound weight class of Central California, delivered a series of punches to the head and body of Torres, who was routinely backpedaling throughout the four rounds of the fight.
"He knew how to throw his punches, but he didn't come in flurries," Corrales said. "It was to my advantage. I was kind of on him for the whole fight. He landed shots, but they weren't very damaging."
Torres seemed to come on toward the tail end of the fight, but by then, it was too little, too late for the Sacramento fighter.
Corrales, who recently earned the Central California Golden Gloves title after defeating 25-year-old Vicente Guzman in Clovis, tends to read his opponent in the first round, and then devise a game plan from there, he says.
But Torres kept his punches limited in the opening round, so Corrales instead went on the offensive.
"My plan was to wait - just to work out the first round to see what he had," Corrales said. "He didn't show much, so I attacked and went from there.
"I went back in and did the same thing (in the later rounds) and put the pressure on through the whole fight. I guess he couldn't handle it."
Corrales, who just turned 17 in February, is at the age minimum for Golden Gloves, which requires its boxers to be between the ages of 17 and 34.
"Since he started in the men's tournament ... he has picked it up 100 percent," said trainer Zeke Lopez. "He's just unreal. His focus is a lot better.
"He's young and he has a lot to learn, but he's taken apart guys that are 20- and 25-years-old. It's amazing."
Already with a pair of Silver Gloves state championship titles to his name, Corrales, who improves to 37-10 overall, said he's proud of himself.
"This is my first year in the Golden Gloves tournament," he said. "I'm fighting guys that have been doing the Golden Gloves tournament for a while, so I'm proud and I'm gonna train harder to hopefully go all the way."
Corrales, who is seeking sponsors for the upcoming state tournament, will now go all the way to Los Angeles for the state Golden Gloves on April 5 where he'll likely be up against another older fighter.
Hopefully, though, Corrales won't be giving up any ring experience.
"From the second that fight started, I didn't think I was gonna lose," Corrales said. "I had control of the fight from the start."
Note: If you are interested in becoming a sponsor, contact Zeke Lopez at 831-636-1349
Andrew Matheson Andrew Matheson is a sports writer for South Valley Newspapers. He can be reached at 831-637-5566 ext. 334 or at amatheson@svnewspapers.com.
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