Local boxer fights at the USA Boxing Eastern Trials
Elegele impressive in front of hometown crowd
BY BRIAN McCALLUM
COCOA - Joe Elegele brought down his opponent, the house and everything else in sight.
Elegele landed a left to the head of his opponent just one minute into his 141-pound fight on Wednesday at the Cocoa Expo Arena, bringing a roar from the supportive local crowd.
Elegele moved on to fight again tonight. Action starts at 7 p.m.
There were three local fighters in action Wednesday at the USA Boxing Eastern Trials. The event continues daily through Saturday's finals. Winners of all 11 weight classes will advance to the U.S. Championships in Colorado Springs, Colo., in June. That's the next step on the road to the 2008 Olympic Games in China.
Elegele used his power and reach advantage to first announce his presence to Jared Robinson of Sumter, S.C., with some rough blows that moved Robinson back. The Melbourne native then waited for his moment and grabbed it.
"He had his hand down right in front of me, so I threw it," Elegele said. "When it hit him, I knew he was going down."
Elegele said he didn't have much of a scouting report on Robinson even though a friend fought him two years ago. His plan was simply to overpower him.
"Every punch I throw is going to be hard," he said.
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