Erislandy Lara makes his successful middleweight debut with dominant win over Thomas LaManna
In his first showing in the middleweight division, Erislandy “The American Dream” Lara (28-3-3, 16 KO’s) easily defeated Thomas “Cornflake” LaManna (30-5-1, 12 KO’s) with a first round knockout. The win should be notably satisfying for Lara given he was entering into a new division and due to LaManna’s prefight bravado. During the final presser, Cornflake started talking greasier than barbecue fries sold from behind bullet proof glass. LaManna, ranked #8 by the WBA, accomplished this by vowing to not only stop but retire the aging veteran.
This was especially dubious given LaManna’s fight history. This was the first time that he had ever competed with this premium level of competition. Ultimately, it appears his mouth wrote a check his skills could not cash. It will be interesting to see if Lara remains at middleweight or returns to super welterweight where he still holds the regular WBA 154-pounds title.
Clearly there was reason that LaManna had never fought this level of competition and it quickly showed. Right from the start, Lara began poking holes in his loose defense with his probing jab. Then as Cornflake circled the ring with his hands far out in front, Lara dipped low and detonated a thunderous overhand left on his ear. The blow instantly stole his legs and splayed LaManna flat on his back. There was no chance of him beating the ten count and the bout was quickly discontinued.
By: Bakari Simpson
