By Ian S Palmer
Former WBA/IBO Jr. Middleweight Champion Erislandy Lara of Cuba takes on Thomas Lamanna of Belleville, New Jersey in Carson, California this Saturday, May 1st for the vacant WBA ‘regular’ Middleweight Title. The 12-round fight can be seen live in North America on Fox and Fox Deportes and in the Uk you can catch it on BoxNation and Premier Sports. Lara won the vacant WBA title when he stopped Ramon Alvarez in the second round in 2019 and won the IBO belt via a unanimous decision over Greg Vendetti in his last outing in August. Lamanna was last in action in January when he stopped Juan de Jesus Angulo Gonzalez in the fifth round for the vacant WBA Fedecentro Middleweight Championship.
The 38-year-old Lara is a southpaw who now fights out of Houston, Texas. He climbs into the ring at 27-3-3 with 15 Kos under his belt. He’s elusive with a lot of boxing skills but doesn’t have too much in the way of one-punch power as his knockout ratio currently stands at 45.5 per cent. He’s just 5-feet-9-inches tall with a 75-inch wingspan. Lara also won the vacant IBO title by beating Delvin Rodriguez via unanimous decision in June, 2015. He won the interim WBA title in June, 2013 by stopping Alfredo Angulo in the 10th round after being dropped in the fourth and ninth rounds.
As well as defending his titles against Yuri Foreman, Vanes Martirosyan, and Delvin Rodriguez, Lara also defended them against Ishe Smith and Jan Zaveck. His three defeats have all been controversial and came at the hands of former champ Jarrett Hurd by split decision in April, 2018, to Paul Williams by majority decision in 2011 and a split decision to Saul Alvarez in 2014. He also fought to a nine-round technical decision draw with Vanes Martirosyan in 2012 and a 10-round majority draw with Carlos Molina a year earlier.
Lara is an excellent technical boxer and his power may be a bit underrated. He’s often not the most exciting boxer around though, but bucked that trend against Hurd and Castano. He’s boxed 225 rounds since turning pro in 2008. Before that he enjoyed an excellent amateur career in which he won numerous titles, including three straight national crowns in Cuba as a welterweight. He has a bit of an awkward style but has become more fan friendly lately by letting his hands go and throwing more power shots. He’s sometimes dominant, too defensive and hard to hit and that can lead to boring fights.
As for Lamanna, he’s 29 years old and carries around a record of 30-4-1 with 12 Kos. He’s boxed 195 rounds since turning pro in 2011 and has a four-inch height advantage on Lara as he stand’s 6-foot-1 but his 74-inch reach puts him at an inch disadvantage in the reach department. He started his career at 16-0 before being stopped by Antoine Douglas in the sixth stanza in 2015 for the vacant WBA Fedelatin title.
He dropped a 10-round unanimous decision to Dusty Harrison in 2016 for the vacant USBA Welterweight title and was halted in the fifth round by Jorge Cota in January, 2020 and lost a 10-round unanimous decision to Brian Mendoza seven months later. Lamanna’s lone draw was a 10-round affair with Gabriel Bracero in 2018. since turning pro, he’s won the WBC Fecarbox, and New Jersey State Welterweight Title. His biggest wins have been over Jorge Pimentel and Mike Arnaoutis. Lamanna lacks power as his current knockout ratio stands at 34.3 per cent.
Prediction…
It’s difficult to understand how Lamanna gets a title shot after losing two of his last fights and never beating a legitimate contender. He’s been stopped twice and lacks power but does have a height advantage on Lara and has fought four times since last year. Of course, Lara has way more experience against top-level opponents and even if he is 38 years old there’s no way he should lose this fight. He has a solid chin and much better boxing skills and as long as he lets his hands go he shouldn’t have much of a problem winning the fight.
