ATLANTIC CITY - One way or another, Thomas LaManna's fight at Bally's Atlantic City tonight probably won't last long.
LaManna (8-0, 5 KOs), a 20-year-old junior-middleweight from Millville, faces Cuban native Yolexcy Leiva (5-3, 4 KOs) as part of the Joel Diaz-Guillermo Sanchez undercard at Bally's main ballroom. The bout is scheduled for six rounds, but Leiva's fights rarely end in decisions.
The 33-year-old Nashville resident has only gone the distance once in his eight previous fights. Four of his victories and all three of his losses ended via knockout or TKO.
LaManna, a 2011 Millville High School graduate, has gotten off to an encouraging start since turning pro a year ago. In his last outing, he posted a six-round, unanimous decision over Sean Rawley Wilson (5-11-1, 1 KO), of La Vista, Neb., on April 27.
Leiva, who faced undefeated foes in his last two fights, suffered a first-round TKO to New York native Frank Galarza (7-0, 4 KOs), in Woodhaven, N.Y. on June 8. Three months earlier, he handed formerly unbeaten Benny Costantino ( 7-2, 4 KOs) his first loss with a third-round TKO in Lincoln, R.I.
Atlantic City light-heavyweight prospect Lavarn Harvell (12-0, 7 KOs) was also supposed to be on the card, but his scheduled opponent, Hilario Lopez (12-11, 8 KOs), of Parma, Idaho, failed to make his flight, according to Harvell's manager and trainer, Abdur Rahim Muhammad.
Eight bouts are scheduled for the card, including the 10-round super-featherweight main event between Diaz (10-0, 9 KOs), a 20-year-old from Palmdale, Calif., and Sanchez (13-6-1, 5 KOs), a 24-year-old from Buffalo, N.Y. Another intriguing fight features a pair of undefeated heavyweights in Joey Dowejko (7-0-1, 3 KOs), of Philadelphia, and Dorsett Barnwell (6-0, 3 KOs), of Norfolk, Va.
Doors to Bally's open at 7 p.m. with the first bout scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Tickets are priced at $50 and $75 and are available through www.pressofatlanticcity.com/tickets.
