Lou McLaughlin – This past Friday night February 17, 2012 Gabe LaConte’s First Round Promotions held a very entertaining fight card at Nutley High School on Nutley, New Jersey. The eight bout card consisted card consisted of five 4 round bouts and three 6 round bouts with one 4 rounder having been canceled due to an injury received in training by one of the participants. They were young enthusiastic fighters who gave their all and provided fine entertaining action. Of a a calibre you do not find on most major PPV telecasts.
The Main Event of the evening was a 6 round middleweight bout between rising local sensation Thomas LaManna 6-0 (4) of Millville, New Jersey (Formerly of Nutley) against tough Daniel Crabtree 3-3 (3) of Hilliard , Ohio
Before the bouts Tommy LaManna graciously gave me the opportunity to interview him as follows
Q-I see that your Father has managed boxers what inspired you to give it a go?
A-What inspired me to give it a go was to prove to him that I can do it. He never wanted me to box. He wanted me on the business side of it which I still am now. But I had said why not try it. I just wanted to prove him wrong really.
Q-What can you tell me about your amateur career and deciding to go pro?
A-I didn’t like some of the decisions that I got. I had 41 amateur fights. I won some lost some. I felt that I got robbed in most of my losses because I don’t have an amateur style. I have more of a professional style. So I felt I would be better suited in the pros.
Q-You had your professional debut in Atlantic City. What were your thoughts on that?
A- That was the craziest thing I ever saw in my life. It was a wild one. The guy came out swinging crazy. It only lasted 51 seconds. A win is a win. But I consider my second fight more so my actual pro debut.
Q- Where do you see yourself going in boxing? How long do you want to stay in it?
A-As long as I can. I’m going to try to take it to the top. A lot of people say just get in make the money get out. I want to be a world champ. I want to win the belt. I want to win a major belt. I want to do something to make people to look back at me and say I want to be like him. Like I want to be like Floyd Mayweather. I want people to say I want to be like Thomas LaManna.
Q- You’re studying to be an accountant similar to Juan Diaz going to law school. How do you think being a professional athlete is going to enhance your white collar profession?
A-I don’t know, If I were to ask you would like a professional boxer who gets hit for a living do your finances? I ask everybody that and most people say Yeah. I’ve put a lot of thought into it and I don’t think it will affect my boxing career if I choose to do my accounting.
Q-How do you think it will affect your accounting?
A- I go to school, do my thing, do my job. I move head more, I don’t get hit. I’ll be straight and it will be OK.
Q- The ring name “Cornflake” how did you get that?
A-I don’t mean this as a racial thing. But I was the only white kid in the gym. When I was at the Boys and Girls club of Vineland I was the only white kid there. I was with African Americans and Latins. My good friend one of my best friends Brain Green a professional boxer said “ You remind me of a cornflake”. So cornflake popped up and it stuck and I’m stuck with it.
Q- What are your thoughts about tonight? Your opponent’s strengths and weaknesses?
A- Crabtree comes straight forward. I have to outbox can’t get into a slugfest. He’s a strong kid he has three wins all three by knockout, never been stopped. So I just got to use my craft, be on my P’s and Q’s and box him.
Q- Your prediction for tonight?
A- My prediction is to win. I don’t want to say I’m going to knock him out. I just have to do whatever it takes. If it goes all six –it goes all six. It’s going to be both of ours first six rounders. I’m prepared to six I hope that he is prepared. Because you know you’re going to have to kill me to get me out of there.
Q- You’ve been very active this past year. Are you going to slow it down as the caliber of your fights improves?
A-Maybe you never know that is up to my Father. He is my manager. He books all of my fights. Whatever he wants me to do he knows what is best for me. And what ever he wants me to do I’ll do it. Supposedly we’re scheduled for March 17th a month from today. So depending on how we do tonight we’ll see.
As the fight played out. The first round saw LaManna using a swift left jab and crisp combinations to score effectively. Crabtree was trying and lunging in but just could not reach LaManna. Towards the end of the first round Crabtree was being driven to the ropes. In the second round the pace of both fighters increased. Tommy was very effective going body to head. But towards the end of the round Crabtree was effective in throwing wild combos and towards the round end had briefly driven LaManna towards the ropes. The third round opened with fair trading. But as the round progressed LaManna opened up throwing rapid combos to head and body punishing Crabtree and driving him to the ropes. Referee Randy Neuman saw fit to stop the bout at 2:30 of the third. This resulted in vehement protest from Crabtree’s corner resulting in a brief melee in the ring. But security restored order swiftly. With this Tommy LaManna improves to 7-0 (5) while Crabtree drops to 3-4 (3).
The entertaining undercard consisted of welterweights Jose Javier Calderon 4-0 (3) of Puerto Rico in a 4 round contest winning a majority decision against Jonathon Garcia 1-2 (1) also of Puerto Rico.
There was a 6 round heavyweight fight between Aaron Kinch 2-0-1 of Newark, N.J.
against Donnie Crawford 1-3 (1) of West Virginia with Kinch winning via 3rd TKO with Kinch retiring in his corner at the end of the 3rd round.
Next up was Atlantez Fox winning a unanimous decision over Fitzgerald Johnson of Newark in a 4 round middleweight contest.
Followed by a 4 round contest with both participants making their Middleweight pro debut with Godson Noel 1-0 of Bloomfield, New Jersey stopping Satchell James 0-1 of Alabama in 2:59 of the 1st
Heavyweight John Lennox 10-1 (4) of Cateret stopped Miles Kelly 2-7 (2) of Arkansas in 1:28 of a scheduled four.
In a secheduled 4 rounds John Thompson 6-0 (2) of Newark defeated Laureno Laracuente 7-5-1 (2) of Puerto Rico. When Laracuente was unable to come out for the 4th.
The semi main event pitted middleweights Richard Pierson 10-2 (6) against Anibal Acevedo 13-9-1 of Puerto Rico. With Acevedo unable to come out for the 3rd round due to a rib injury and removed from the ring by EMS personnel on a stretcher.