NUTLEY (NJ) – Nutley native Thomas LaManna (7-0, 5 KO) used his physical attributes in taking the fight to a game Daniel Crabtree (3-4, 3 KO) in front of his hometown crowd in Nutley. LaManna used his height (6’2” tall for a light middleweight) and reach in setting up a barrage of power shots in the third round that ended the fight. Early on, LaManna kept Crabtree at the end of his long jab and negated Crabtree’s attempts and making the fight an inside war. The finishing flurry started with a clean LaManna left hook that forced Crabtree’s glove to the canvas (uncalled) and LaManna swarmed Crabtree with a two-fisted attack that forced the stoppage by referee Randy Neumann. LaManna dominated the fight on all cards before the stoppage.

In the night’s co-feature, super middleweight Richard Pierson (10-2, 7 KO) stopped Anibal Acevedo (13-8, 1 KO) with a rib shot that forced Acevedo’s retirement after the first round. Acevedo finished the round after he survived the body fatal body shot in the opening seconds of the fight. Pierson, from Paterson, dominated the fight landing the telling blow in each altercation and showed the superior fighting skill between the two. After the first round, Acevedo received medical assistance after complaining of pain when breathing in his corner.

Newark middleweight John Thompson (6-0, 2 KO) boxed a sturdy Laureano Laracuente (7-5-1, 2 KO) all over the ring before referee Randy Neumann recommended the stoppage before the start of the fourth round. Laracuente earned credit for his toughness as he received two fights worth of punishment once Thompson discovered his jab midway through the opening round. Thompson spent the rest of the fight working behind the jab, building two and three punch combinations until late in the third round. At that point, Thompson landed a series of hard rights that drove Laracuente into the ropes and prompted Neumann’s actions.

In an explosive heavyweight bout Carteret’s John Lennox (10-5, 5 KO) toppled Miles Kelly (2-7, 2 KO) in an 88-second knockout. Kelly scored the first telling blow of the fight and dropped Lennox seconds into the fight. Lennox righted himself (although he noted ankle damage after the fight) and turned the match into a slugfest. Lennox landed a left high on the head of Kelly that caused a delayed knockdown from which Kelly never recovered.

In the prelims, middleweight Godson Noel (Newark) defeated Satchel James in both the pro debut for both fighters. Somehow Alantez Fox (7-0, 3 KO) won a unanimous decision over Fitzgerald Johnson (2-6, 1 KO) after Johnson had Fox in la-la land in the second round. Newark heavyweight Aaron Kinch (2-0-1, 1 KO) dropped Donnie Crawford (1-3, 1 KO) with a body shot for a third round knockout. Jr. Welterweight Jonathan Garcia (2-1, 1 KO) outpointed Jose Javier Calderon (3-1, 3 KO) in the opening bout of the night.