By: Sean Crose
After an extended period away from the ring, the 33-0 Jamal Charlo returned to action Saturday night in Las Vegas. His opponent was the 39-5-1 Thomas “Cornflake” LaManna. The fight was a super middleweight affair scheduled for 10. The match was the co-main event of the Caleb Plant-Armando Resendiz card and was aired live on Amazon Prime. The opening round was a close affair as both fighters fought to get comfortable. A confident Charlo landed well in the second. A very deliberate Charlo went on to dominate the third. Indeed, LaManna hit the mat well before the midpoint of the round. While LaManna was able to beat to count, he was clearly and brutally being outclassed.
LaManna had a better fourth for himself, but he was still being bested by former world titlist Charlo. Indeed, a potent Charlo shot towards the end of the round put Charlo down for a second second time, albeit briefly. A beautiful punch put LaManna down yet again in the fifth. LaManna got up yet again, but the fight had become a one sided beatdown. LaManno went down once more – though this time it was a slip. After being cracked again just before the bell, it appeared the fight was all but over. And sure enough, the ring doctor stopped the fight at one second of the sixth. “It feels good to be back,” a relaxed Charlo said afterward. “You got to go through things to get better. This is a better me.”
