ATLANTIC CITY, New Jersey – If this truly was Thomas “Cornflake” LaManna’s farewell fight, he went out on the most entertaining terms possible.
Bleeding heavily over his left eye and having been knocked down in the previous round, LaManna pulled victory from the jaws of defeat, coming back to stop Juan Rodriguez Jnr on Saturday night at Bally’s Atlantic City.
LaManna, 40-6-1 (19 KOs), of Millville, New Jersey, scored an Arturo Gatti-like comeback, dropping Rodriguez twice in the fifth round before referee David Fields halted the fight at the 1-minute, 35-second mark. Rodriguez, 39, of Union City, New Jersey, dropped to 14-10 (6 KOs) with the loss.
“I knew I was down on the cards. I went down and, yo, I found it in me, man,” LaManna said of what he thought when the fight ended. “It’s like, yo, we ain't doing that. We're not going to dark places. We’re gonna figure it the fuck out.”
Despite appearing much larger than his southpaw opponent, LaManna had a difficult time getting his rhythm going. Rodriguez, a southpaw with a deep amateur background, used his straight left to the midsection to bring LaManna down to his height, chopping over the top with right hooks afterwards. After the first round, it appeared that LaManna, who had announced heading into this fight that it would be his last, looked to already be in retirement mode.
LaManna made his first impression on Rodriguez in the second round, landing a straight right that knocked Rodriguez on his heels. Rodriguez came back with a spirited effort to the body, ripping both sides before an accidental low blow sent LaManna to the canvas in pain.
LaManna’s father, former promoter Vinny LaManna, implored his son from ringside to “Stop fucking around!” as “Cornflake” walked back to the corner adjusting his cup.
LaManna began to press the action more in the fourth round, but Rodriguez came roaring back, landing a right hook that split open LaManna’s eyebrow. Any doubts about whether Rodriguez, a career welterweight, could hurt LaManna evaporated the moment LaManna was sent to a knee by a chopping right hook. LaManna beat the count but was still hurt as he fell back to a knee on a delayed reaction following an overhand left that wasn’t scored a knockdown.
With the doctor examining both the cut and LaManna’s cognitive function, it was clear that LaManna had to get it done in the next round. That’s exactly what he did, beginning with a wide right hand from which Rodriguez never recovered. Rodriguez fell into the ropes for a count. Dazed and unable to hold, Rodriguez absorbed several more devastating blows before being deposited onto the apron near his own blue corner.
LaManna’s father, who hadn’t been ringside at one of his son’s fights in two years, had been a promoter and manager for decades, and knows how hard it can be for a fighter to stay retired.
“At least five years,” Vinny LaManna – who guided champions Imamu Mayfield, Shannon Briggs and Ray Mercer – joked about how long his son will stay retired.
“After this performance and this comeback, how can you retire? This was the best fight of his career. He earned it now if he wants to fight again.”
LaManna, who turned professional in 2011, has been the most consistent fighter on the New Jersey club fight scene. He rose several times to the next level but fell short against his best world-class opponents, losing by stoppage to Jermall Charlo in his most recent fight. In his lone world title opportunity, LaManna was knocked out in the first round by Erislandy Lara for the WBA middleweight title in 2021.
LaManna, who promoted Saturday’s event under his Rising Star Promotions banner, insists it’s time to step away and focus on his growing roster of fighters, which includes unbeaten prospects Lisandra Contreras and Ofacio Falcon, both of whom won on the undercard.
“I’m not trying to give a speech. Just dream big, y’all,” LaManna said, as his emotions began to get the better of him. All these 15 years, I just dreamed big. Like, just figure it out. Do whatever you want to do, figure it out, get the fuck up and put that work in.
“I did it my way.”
Ryan Songalia is a reporter and editor for BoxingScene.com and has written for ESPN, the New York Daily News, Rappler, The Guardian, Vice and The Ring magazine. He holds a Master’s degree in Journalism from the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism and is a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America. He can be reached at ryansongalia@gmail.com or on Twitter at @ryansongalia.
