Thoman LaManna looks to impress on March 8th

New Jersey's own Thomas "Cornflake" LaManna (10-0, 6 KOs) will be stepping into the ring again on March 8 at Resorts Casino Hotel in Atlantic City, New Jersey, on the undercard of the ESPN2 Friday Night Fights-televised night of boxing, promoted by Sampson Boxing and featuring Victor Cayo (31-3 22 KOs) vs. Emmanuel Taylor (16-1 11 KOs) in the main event.

"It is an honor to be fighting in front of Teddy Atlas, Joe Tessitore, and the ESPN crew. It motivates me to look even better," said LaManna.

LaManna will be facing Joshua Snyder of Berlin, Maryland, (9-8-1, 3 KOs). "Everyone is telling me this is going to be a hard fight, but I am training hard to put on a good performance."

With a new strength-and-conditioning coach, the tutelage of Bernard Hopkins, and having spent five weeks as the chief sparring partner for Demetrius Hopkins, LaManna said he feels confident and stronger going into this fight, which will take place at 160 lbs, six pounds higher than his usual fighting weight of 154.

"I walk around at 165, so not having to sweat down those last pounds the week of the fight is nice."

LaManna says he plans to impress when he steps in the ring on March 8. "This is the fight where I am going to prove to the haters, as well as the fans, that I have what it takes... Jaws will be dropped. One thing that I have in this fight that I can't say I've had in any other is pure confidence... when I got the call from Sampson that I was on the card, I was excited. And when I found out I was fighting Josh Snyder, I was even more excited."

Thomas would like to thank Sampson Boxing, Matt Howard of Resorts Casino, and Josh Snyder for the opportunity to make a statement.

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Cayo vs. Taylor, along with a televised co-featured 10-round heavyweight bout between Magomed Abdusalamov (16-0, 16 KOs) and Victor Bisbal (21-1, 15 KOs), will be televised live on ESPN2 Friday Night Fights at 10 pm ET. The telecast can also be seen on ESPN Deportes and online at WatchESPN.com. It will also be available on smart phones and tablets via the WatchESPN app.

Headlining the undercard will be Virgin Islands-based "The Hawk Flock", the sons and nephew of former world champion Julian "The Hawk" Jackson, each of whom is an up-and-coming contender in the respective divisions.

WBC Super Welterweight Youth World Champion John "Dah Rock" Jackson (14-1, 13 KOs), super middleweight contender Julius "The Chef" Jackson (14-0, 10 KOs) and junior middleweight contender Samuel "Rock City Cobra" Rogers (12-0, 7 KOs) will each make appearances.

Also scheduled to appear in separate bouts are local favorites such as Brooklyn lightweight Scott "Bang Bang" Burrell (6-1, 5 KOs) and a special showcase featuring the son of former heavyweight champion Bruce Seldon, undefeated super middleweight Isiah Seldon (6-0, 3 KOs).

The event is promoted by Sampson Boxing. The main event is presented in association with Joe DeGuardia's Star Boxing.