Thomas LaManna Poised to Impress in his Pro Debut

By Eugene Sirota

With just hours remaining until he steps into the ring for the first time as a professional, it would be understandable for Millville, NJ's Thomas LaManna to have a few butterflies in his stomach. However, as I interviewed the high school senior over a tray of his mother's homemade baked ziti just after he weighed in at Bally's, he spoke with the confidence of a veteran who's been down this road before.

Self-assured without being cocky, LaManna speaks with maturity well beyond his nineteen years. Although the man he's facing, Anthony Williams (0-2 of Wilson, NC), hasn't fared too well in his pro career to this point, Thomas isn't taking his opponent lightly. "I have prepared for this fight by sparring with the best guys around" LaManna said of his work at the Atlantic City PAL with Shamone Alvarez, Patrick Majewski, Osnel Charles, and Decarlo Perez.

With this fight happening in his own backyard (he's expecting close to 300 friends and family to be in attendance), many distractions are bound to pop up. However, LaManna has not allowed to his focus to be derailed. "Everyday its: school, gym, home." Thomas said of his regimen, "That's it, and I never take a day off, not even Super Bowl Sunday."

The man responsible for handling all those distractions outside the ring (as well as working his fighter's corner) is none other than Thomas' father Vincent. Many of this site's readers probably know Vinny LaManna from his days as a promoter in the 90's. In addition to having over fifty fights under his belt as a promoter, the elder LaManna has managed Ray Mercer, Bert Cooper and Michael Covington.

Guiding your own flesh and blood though the toughest business there is no enviable task, but Vinny LaManna is defiantly up to it. Not only does he have an abundance of experience to draw on, he has also has the help of trainer Hassan Hammed-El and cut-man Joey Eye.

Speaking with father and son, the bond between the two was clear, but don't expect Vinny to baby his son. "He doesn't get any special treatment" said Vinny "I look after all my fighters like they my kids anyway."

Thomas LaManna's fight is scheduled for four rounds in the junior welterweight division.

Other local fighters in action:
Atlantic City's John "The Eastern Beast" Brown (24-18, 11 KO) takes on 2000 Olympic Silver Medalist Ricardo Williams (16-2, 9 KO).

Promoted by Goossen Tutor Promotions and sponsored by Corona, tickets are priced at $75 and $50 may be purchased at www.ticketmaster.com, Ticketmaster retail outlets, Ticketmaster Call Center 800-745-3000 and Bally's Atlantic City (day of event).

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Green to face Barthelemy Friday in Florida!

Vineland's Bryne Green will look to play the role of spoiler when he battles undefeated Rances Barthelemy in a six round lightweight bout Friday evening at the Magic City Casino in Miami, FL.

Rances, 9-0 (7 KO's), is the brother of 2004 Olympic Gold Medalist Yan Barthelemy. The Miami based Cuban stopped six of his nine opponents inside of one round.

Green,5-4 (3 KO's), dropped his last three fights, most recently losing a six round split decision to Victor Vasquez in Philadelphia.

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AC Undercard Announced for Friday!

Exciting junior featherweight boxing sensation Rico “Suavecito” Ramos (18-0, 10 KOs) will risk his #1 world ranking when he takes on former world title challenger Alejandro Valdez (23-4-3, 17 KOs), of Ciudad Obregon, Sonora, Mexico in a scheduled 10-round bout this Friday, February 11 at Bally’s in Atlantic City. The opening televised 8-round bout showcases undefeated super middleweight Cornelius “Da Beast” White (16-0, 15 KOs), of Houston, TX against another knockout artist Don “Da Bomb” George (20-1-1, 17KOs) who hails from Chicago, IL. Both bouts can be seen on SHOWTIME at 11PM ET/PT.

Just added to the event, in an off-TV twelve-round rematch is an IBF heavyweight title elimination bout between the IBF’s #2 top rated contender Eddie Chambers (35-2, 18 KOs) and IBF #9 Derric Rossy (25-2, 14 KOs). Also, former 2000 US Olympic Silver Medalist, Ricardo Williams (16-2, 9 KOs) returns against former world champion John Brown (24-18-2, 11 KOs) in a six-rounder. Promoted by Goossen Tutor Promotions, tickets priced at $75 and $50 call 800-745-3000.

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White Pulls out Split Decision; Eriksson fights to a draw in PA!

For Lee's Kyle White dug deep to pull out a gutsy four round split decision over Pete Yates, while Dover's Todd Eriksson fought to a disputed draw against Stephon Burgette last night in Chester, PA at Harrah's Casino.

According to Rick Scharmberg of Fightnews.com, White (3-0, 2 KOs) went right to work behind a fine jab, but was caught with a counter left hook that opened a nasty cut in the corner of his left eye midway through the round. Yates tried to end things with power shots but ended up spending a lot of energy, and hewalked back to his corner with blood coming from a cut to the back of his head. Still, the round was extremely close based on White’s early work.

Early in round two, a hard right from Yates dropped an off-balance White along the ropes. Yates once again tried to finish White with power shots, but his hands were dropping as White got himself back into it.

Yates landed a big left-right combination to open round three, but White used his superior boxing ability by staying behind his jab and firing his right to the body of Yates to easily take the round.

Both fighters were now bleeding from the nose in the final round, but White still had a lot left in the tank against the fading Yates. White tagged Yates with an assortment of shots to the head and body, and his superior conditioning earned him the fight.

The scores were 38-37 (twice) for White, and 39-37 in favor of Yates.





Erikson (2-5-2, 1 KO) tried to keep the fight on the inside while the muscular Burgette (0-0-1) sought to plaster himself to his opponent’s chest and maul on the inside.

Every round was close and difficult to score. Erikson had the edge in round one, but Burgette landed some uppercuts while on the inside in rounds two and three. Burgette lost his mouthpiece in both rounds, while Erikson appeared to tire in the third.

Round four was razor thin, as Erikson was punching in combination, and Burgette landed a big right along with two right uppercuts. Erikson might have had a slight edge here, but it was very close.

In the end, the scores read 39-37 for Burgette, 39-37 for Erikson, and even at 38-38.

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The A.C. Scene!

By E.A. Sirota

Ever since the city's first pro bout between Jim Daly and Mike Boden in 1890,Atlantic City has always been a great boxing town. From the midget boxing and weekly club shows of the Boardwalk Empire era to the"golden age" of the 1980's to Arturo Gatti's fights at the Hall, you could always go down the shore to a see fight of some sort.

The legalization of gambling and subsequent opening of Resorts, AC's first casino in 1978, undoubtedly did a lot to revitalize the relationship between the city and the sport. With about a dozen casino showrooms/ballrooms large enough to stage boxing, not to mention the historic Boardwalk Hall, AC has no shortage of venues.

Even though cards haven't been staged in AC as frequently in recent years, it still continues to be a marque destination that draws promoters big and small. However, the competition from slot parlors in neighboring states may actually force the casinos here to revisit the days of weekly fights in the near future.

This column will focus on the past, present and future of boxing in America's Playground.

Since everybody loves a good list, I'm going to count down the top 5 fights staged in AC over the past 20 years. Feel free to add your 2¢ to the comment section below.

5. Ivan Robinson D10 Vivian Harris
Tropicana Hotel &Casino
8/11/2000

After 10 rounds of back and forth action, it was literally to close to call. The fans were the winners on that night.

4. Evander Holyfield UD12 George Foreman AC Convention Center 4/19/1991

Holyfield, in the prime of his career, is able to out slug Big George who had 49 lbs. on him.

Approaching the 20th anniversary of this fight, "The Real Deal" has two bouts scheduled in the coming months.

3. Darroll "Doin' Damage" TKO3 Shannon Briggs Adrian Phillips Ballroom, Convention Center 3/15/1996

To say the hometown guy, Wilson, was the underdog in this fight is a huge understatement. Even though he came into the fight 16-0-2, he wasn't even supposed to be a pebble on Briggs' (25-0 at the time) road to a championship. He was able to survive The Cannon's initial follies to land a picturesque left hook that put Briggs down and out with :43 to go in the 3rd. Wilson went on to get knocked out by David Tua two fights later, but in stopping Briggs, he can claim something that not even Vitali Klitschko can.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RKduOqSmeBY

2. Sergio Martinez KO2 Paul Williams Boardwalk Hall 11/20/2010
In one of the most anticipated fights to come to AC in years, "Maravilla" lands the shot heard round the boxing world. His stunning one-punch KO instantly established him as one of the top fighters P4P in the world.

1.tie between Arturo Gatti UD10 Micky Ward(3rd fight)
Boardwalk Hall 6/7/2003
and Ivan Robinson SD10 Gatti (1st fight) Boardwalk Hall 8/22/1998

Both of these fights were fight of the year. These wars cemented Gatti as an all-time great and made it possible for him to headline in the Hall even after his best days were behind him.

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ShoBox Returns to AC February 11!

By E.A. Sirota

Gooesn Tutor Promotions returns to Atlantic City on February 11 to stage a card that will be aired live on ShoBox: The New Generation. Taking place at Bally's, it will be the first card of 2011 that will be held in Atlantic City.

Rising super bantamweight contender Rico "Suavecito" Ramos (18-0, 10 KO) of California headlines the show, taking on Sonora Mexico's Alejandro Valdez (23-4-3, 17 KO) in the main event scheduled for ten rounds. The twenty-three year-old Ramos is coming off a 2nd round KO victory of Heriberto Ruiz this past November.

As you may remember, that bout was broadcast on ESPN2 as part of a "Salute to the Troops" special from Camp Lejuene, North Carolina. Up against a two-time title challenger in Valdez, Ramos hopes to fair better than the last Goosen Tutor promoted boxer to fight in an Atlantic City venue in Paul Williams.

In the co-feature, undefeated super middleweight Cornelius "Da Beast" White (16-0, 15 KO) of Houston makes his East Coast and TV debut against Chicago's Don "Da Bomb" George (20-1, 17KO). Even though George is coming off a tough loss, this is still a gigantic step up for the untested White.

With only two of his prior foes able to claim a winning record, it is debatable whether White's impressive KO % and streak of thirteen straight stoppage victories are a product of his own skill or his over-matched opponents' lack thereof. Expect fireworks when these two, both with something to prove, step into the ring.

Tickets priced at $75 and $50 may be purchased at www.ticketmaster.com, Ticketmaster retail outlets, Ticketmaster Call Center 800-745-3000 and Bally's Atlantic City (day of event).

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Douglin to Fight December 3!

Morganville, NJ (November 17, 2010) – Undefeated and highly touted junior middleweight prospect Denis “Da Momma’s Boy” Douglin will return to the ring Friday, December 3, at the Chumash Casino in Santa Ynez, CA.

A former National Golden Gloves Champion, Douglin, 11-0 (7 KO’s), has shown solid improvements each time he returned to the squared circle. In his most recent bout, the Morganville, NJ native need less than a round to destroy once beaten Orphius White.

Since turning pro in 2009 after a magnificent amateur career, Douglin has scored impressive victories in four states and is looking forward to putting on a show in his first trip to the west coast.

“I am excited to perform in front of a new audience,” said Douglin. “I want the whole world to know who I am so fighting all around the world is the way to do it. I’m planning to make a statement in California and I can’t wait until fight night.”

Douglin’s opponent will be announced shortly and the bout will take place on the undercard of a ShoBox doubleheader promoted by Gary Shaw Productions.

Fans can follow Denis at twitter.com/Damommasboy.

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