"Technically the fight is unofficial, but it's done. I mean, it's going to happen, but maybe different date and different venue, so I just wanted to put that out there. Between all of us, we know it's going to happen; we just gotta work out the little particulars on when, where, and all of that stuff. It's going to be for the USBA and it will still be on the east coast too...I'm walking these guys down at welterweight and taking more control. Mentally, I have won 5 fights since the fight with Douglas and I have won them all and it's good...he's in my way and he gotta go," stated welterweight contender Thomas LaManna, who talked about his upcoming showdown with fellow welterweight contender Dusty Hernandez-Harrison. Check it out!
PC: You had your eyes on a fight with Dusty Hernandez-Harrison since before his fight with Mike Dallas and you got it. Why Dusty? Why did you want this fight so bad?
TL: Yeah man, it's nothing really against Dusty as a person. I happen to like the kid. We came up in the amateurs together. I know his dad, but at the end of the day, he has Roc Nation and people behind him. I'm blessed with people behind me, but I don't got that big time promoter and muscle behind me and I knew he was available. I knew he would be willing to take the fight and at the end of the day, it's a business, man. You put them friendships to the side. When I fought Antoine Douglas, he was cool too, but we put that to the side and we did what we had to do. That's all it's about.
PC: How is preparation going for the fight?
TL: It's going real good. I'm not going to hose you, we were supposed to be doing it at the Taj Mahal in Atlantic City, but it's shutting down. They are on strike or whatever. Technically..technically the fight is unofficial, but it's done. I mean, it's going to happen, but maybe different date and different venue, so I just wanted to put that out there. Between all of us, we know it's going to happen; we just gotta work out the little particulars on when, where, and all of that stuff. It's going to be for the USBA and it will still be on the east coast too.
PC: Is it hard to keep focus knowing that things are being rearranged or is that not an issue for you?
TL: It's not really hard to stay focused. When the Taj Mahal announced that they were closing, I'm not going to lie, I didn't go to the gym that day (laughing), you know what I mean? I was like, "Dang man. Shoot!" I do have great people behind me. And it's not like they have financial interest behind me or they are invested in me. I just have great people behind me in the boxing business. They got everybody putting it together right now and getting it done, so it's going to happen. One thing about me is I stay in the gym. I do everything to stay prepared because you never know when the opportunity will come up. I always try and stay focused, so that's no problem with me.
PC: You went up as high as middleweight to face Douglas and that's where you suffered your lone career defeat. Since then, you have moved your way down to welterweight and you have been real impressive. How much did this move help you mentally and physically?
TL: I feel a lot better physically. I'm 6'1", so I'm a big middleweight height-wise and I also have a big frame, so it's not like I'm a small middleweight, but in a way, I am because when I fought Antoine, man, it was just like I was hitting this dude with my whole life. I put my whole life into some of them shots and I hit him with some meaningful punches and he wasn't flinching or anything. He was just eating them and walking through them, so I guess size mattered in that fight. He is a bonafide middleweight who will blow up to 180-something in that ring and I weighed in at 157 and I was in the ring at 163. So size mattered in that fight. I take my hat off to him. I got nothing but love for Antoine. So physically, I'm the bigger guy now obviously. I'm walking these guys down at welterweight and taking more control. Mentally, I have won 5 fights since the fight with Douglas and I have won them all and it's good, man. The loss is out of my head. I know it happened. I learned more from one loss than I have in 21 wins now. It's a blessing to me. I always try to take the good with the bad and it is never a loss, it's a lesson, and that's how I look at it.
PC: Dusty is coming off of a draw against Mike Dallas in which some people feel Dallas edged him; some thought the draw was justified. Are you expecting a hungrier version of Dusty coming off of his first career blemish because he wants to do like you just said you did and that's put the blemish behind him?
TL: I hope! I don't want no excuses. I hope, honestly. I thought he lost that fight, man. Me and Dusty was in training camp together. We have sparred before and been in the ring together a few years ago and one thing I know about Dusty, he ain't no bitch. He definitely got heart. He got heart out of this world. He's been dropped before in his career and he was losing that fight to Dallas; not even losing, just getting outclassed and beat up and embarrassed. But he came back and made the fight close. I still thought he lost, but he came back and made it respectable. He's no bitch whatsoever, man, he's got heart. Do I think he's going to come hungry? Yeah because he knows like I know that this is crossroads for us. This is the kind of make or break fight for us. Unfortunately, I got a loss on my record, man, and the way boxing is today, another loss on my record and they are going to look at me as an opponent, and I'm no opponent. Dusty got a lot of hype behind him with Roc Nation and Jay-Z and he's undefeated. He's got a lot of stuff going for him and fighting for the USBA title, the winner gets a world rating in the IBF. I need that, so he's in my way and he gotta go. I hope he has the same mindset, I really do. It'll make for a good fight for the fans.
PC: Is there anything you can take away from being in the gym with him or sparring with him or do you think the fight will be a totally different animal?
TL: I think, and I'm going to compare...I'm not comparing me and Dusty to Shawn Porter and Keith Thurman, but I definitely think Porter and Thurman was an exciting fight. I don't think it would have been that exciting or big if they didn't spar before and they didn't know each other so well. They were willing to take more risk because they knew what it was already. I definitely think that's the case with me and Dusty. I think he may be willing to take more risk because he may know or recall things that worked before and I can feel the same way. But at the end of the day, we are all professionals and my plan is to make adjustments off the rip. As soon as the bell rings, take it from there. What happened 2 or 3 years ago can't help me or help him in the fight and it can't save either one of us either.
PC: What would it mean for you to capture that regional title and get placed in the IBF ranking?
TL: It would mean the world to me because I sacrificed a lot. I turned pro in high school and Dusty turned pro early as well, but I can only talk about myself. Dusty has been financially taken care of throughout his whole career. That hasn't been the case with me. I came up an average blue collar guy. I have a great fan base and I sell a lot of tickets, so I was able to get these fights and get the going rate purses for 4 to 6 round fights, so this would mean the world to me. I know how hard I have worked and how much I sacrificed and how much work I put in at the gym. I got two little sisters that look up to me and I don't get a chance to spend time with them a lot. I got a girlfriend that basically hates me sometimes because I can't spend time with her and my family. I got a chip on my shoulder because it's hard, but hopefully, God willing, when this fight happens and I get this dub, it'll be all worth it. It would mean the world to win this USBA title and get this world ranking. I never ask for anything to be given to me. I always just ask for an opportunity and it's up to me to make the best of it and I stick by that, whether I win or lose, I'll just be fortunate for an opportunity, that's all.
PC: I wish you the best. I look forward to the fight and we will speak again soon. Is there anything else you want to add?
TL: I definitely want to give you a big thanks. Like I told you, I'm a big fan of FightHype, so big thanks to you and shout out to FightHype. Look man, I'm hoping in the next few days to get a date and venue so that I can announce it on my social media pages. A lot of people are excited. It's a New Jersey-DC thing and I got New York, Philadelphia, New Jersey, Delaware, DC and Virginia whole circuit excited about this one and hopefully when the fight happens, it's going to be a great fight for the fans, so watch out because the winner of this fight is going to be on to bigger and better things.
[ Follow Percy Crawford on Twitter @MrLouis1ana ]