Xavier Correa, Jordan Simpson advance at National Golden Gloves

Experience paid off for New Jersey boxers on the opening day of the National Golden Gloves, which kicked off Monday, May 11 at the Arvest Convention Center in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Xavier Correa (143 pounds) and Jordan Simpson (165 pounds), both of Paterson’s True Warriors Boxing, scored decision wins in their returns to nationals, while Eric Orr (154 pounds) and Erdis Lala (176 pounds) fell short in their first fights at the national level.

Correa, a 2024 National Golden Gloves bronze medalist, used his superior skills and combination punching to outpoint Pennsylvania’s Jaysonet Martinez, while Simpson advanced to the next round with a decision over Iowa’s Donavon Serrano.

At 154 pounds, Orr, a Roselle, NJ resident out of the Park Elite Boxing Club, needed a big rally in the third to get past the Utah-based southpaw Corbin Warr, but lost the last round 5-0 to drop a unanimous decision. Lala, 20, of Little Ferry, N.J. lost a decision to Kentucky’s Boaz Nishimwe.

Correa’s tournament will continue on Tuesday when he faces Chicago’s Angel Martinez while Simpson will face Nebraska’s Adonis Marcial.

Quazir McLeod, New Jersey’s 121-pound representative, will start his tournament on Tuesday against Kansas-Oklahoma’s Alvin Torres, while the final New Jersey boxer to see action will be 198-pound Dominic Lombardi of Runnemede, N.J., who will compete on Wednesday against Washington D.C.’s John Purnell, who defeated Nathanael Schwinghammer on Monday.