Atlantic City, NJ–The Jim Whelan Boardwalk Boxing event presented by Rising Star Promotions was the definitely the place to be Saturday night with an eight card bout that hailed a number of contenders from the garden state.
Melville, New Jersey’s own Thomas “Cornflake” LaManna went toe to toe with Tijuana, Mexico’s vet Saul Roman for a full eight round match bringing excitement to the boardwalk arena.
Since his 2011 debut, the thirty year old Middleweight’s 32-5-1 record, 13 of those by KO, is something the Orthodox fighter is hungry to outrun since his year hiatus and judging from Saturday’s matchup, he’s eagerly on his way there.
Roman’s experience and grit is what kept the battle going with the seasoned pro working LaManna’s core landing body shots in the early rounds but by the fifth round the Jersey native’s strength was just too solid.
LaManna laced the versed warrior with combos to the grill putting him down on the canvas making his 46-15-0 record now 16 loses with judges Lynne Carter and Paul Wallace tying the score at 77-74, and Steven Weisfeld at 78-73 bringing the eight round match to a close by unanimous decision in favor of LaManna.
“I always knew I was better than [Roman], I knew I had more skill than him, it just came down to me believing in myself and putting it together. I had him hurt, I just second guessed myself and my conditioning while trying to finish,” said the self-promoting fighter handling the main event.
LaManna’s Rising Star Promotions made its 2015 debut with the help of co-founder and mother Debra LaManna as the driving force to his upcoming career.
Next up for the boxer is the Santiago del Tolu, Columbia match up against El Gallo de Oro Venezuelan Super Welterweight Michael Marcano September 8th. Recognizing he needs more work, “Cornflake” needs to put in the effort to get to the status he’s craving to be.
