Welterweights Thomas LaManna and Dusty Hernandez-Harrison will square off in a scheduled 10-round bout on Thursday, Sept. 15, in an anticipated showdown at the 2300 Arena. The card is promoted by Final Forum Boxing, Peltz Boxing Promotions & GH3 Promotions and will be broadcast live on CBS Sports Network.
“This is the kind of fight boxing needs at this juncture,” said Hall-of-Fame promoter and matchmaker J Russell Peltz. “We have two young prospects at the same level meeting in a logical location–New Jersey against Washington, D.C. in Philadelphia. Boxing needs more fights like this in this kind of setting. This is the best fight for each of these fighters at this point of their careers.”
The wick for this explosive fight was lit several years ago when LaManna and Hernandez-Harrison engaged in heated sparring sessions which forged the rivalry for the inevitable bout.
LaManna, 24, of Millville, NJ, has a record of 21-1, 9 K0s. He has been fighting regularly on the Boardwalk in Atlantic City, NJ, since turning pro in 2011. He won his first 16 bouts, highlighted by wins over Ashandi Gibbs, of Tampa, FL, and Jamaal Davis, of Philadelphia. Since suffering his only loss to world-ranked middleweight Antoine Douglas, of Burke, VA, last year in a ShoBox-televised contest, LaManna moved back down to welterweight and has won five matches in a row. In his last fight July 22 at the Claridge in Atlantic City, Lamanna, knocked out Engleberto Valenzuela, of Mexico, in the first round.
“I’ve been looking forward to this fight for a long time,” said LaManna. “Our careers have run parallel. Dusty will bring plenty of fans to support him that night and the same goes for me. It’s an intriguing match for both of us and it’s in a natural setting where it belongs.”
Hernandez-Harrison, 22, of Washington, DC, is 29-0-1, 21K0s. He has been touted as the city’s “best boxing prospect since Sugar Ray Leonard” by the Washington Magazine.
He began fighting at the age of 6 in a boxing exhibition at the Ritz Nightclub in Northwest D.C. and became a sanctioned amateur at the age of 8.
Hernandez-Harrison compiled an amateur record of 167-30, winning Ringside World Championships, National Silver Gloves Championships and three consecutive National Golden Gloves Championships from 2007 to 2009. He turned pro in 2011 at the age of 17 in Mississippi, the youngest licensed pro boxer at the time.
Under the promotional banner of Roc Nation, Hernandez-Harrison has wins over Tim Witherspoon, Jr., of Philadelphia, Tommy Rainone, of New York, and Michael Clark, of Columbus, OH. His fights have been televised by ESPN, Fox Sports 1 and BET and he recently entered into agreements with FILA and GEICO to be a brand ambassador, the only professional boxer to represent each prestigious company.
“This is a big opportunity for both of us,” said Hernandez-Harrison “The winner will get a Top 15 world ranking by the IBF and that’s what this is about. I have known Thomas for a long time, but that all goes out the window when we step into the ring.
Final Forum Promtions of New York presents this event exclusively LIVE on CBS Sports Network. Salvatore Musumeci of Final Forum Promotions said, “I am extremely proud to produce this exciting world-class as the first of our 2016 series of Championship Title Boxing. I hope this event will set the tone and excitement level for the rest of our 2016 Championship Title Boxing series exclusively on CBS Sports Network. I especially want to thank our co-promotions team, all our sponsors, our executive production team and of course CBS who have worked all in unison to make this event and the championship Title Boxing series something of the fans of the sport will come to appreciate and expect the best in world-class sports entertainment.”
Three GH3 Promotions fighters will appear on the televised undercard.
Scheduled to appear in the co-feature will be super middleweight Jerry Odom (14-2-1, 13 KO’s) of Baltimore, Maryland in a bout scheduled for eight-rounds; welterweight Kenneth Sims Jr. (7-0, 2 KO’s) of Chicago in an six-round bout; bantamweight Leroy Davila (2-0, 1 KO) of New Brunswick, New Jersey in a four-round fight,
