CARTERET, New Jersey - Ahead of the biggest fight of his life - a 10-round showdown with former world champion Jermall Charlo at Michelob Ultra Arena in Las Vegas - Thomas LaManna’s heart is back at home in New Jersey club show boxing.

The 33-year-old middleweight contender will promote his first show on DAZN this Sunday, when his Rising Star Promotions’ hosts a show at the Performing Arts Center in Carteret, New Jersey. The Charlo showdown is sandwiched in between this show and another one on June 21 - a co-promotion with Top Rank at Prudential Center, which will air live on ESPN+.

No matter how high the ceiling is in his career, he always comes back to the club venues where he first began his career 14 years ago.

“I’m fighting Jermall Charlo on Amazon Prime, but I love my club show boxing. I’ll always be a club show guy, whether fighter or promoter. I don’t give a fuck, I love this shit because that’s how I started,” said LaManna, 39-5-1, 18 KOs).

“I want to be the club show guy to build these stars to headline Matchroom DAZN cards or Top Rank shows. That’s my thing.”

Still, LaManna understands how big an opportunity he has with a fight against Charlo, 33-0 (22 KOs), on May 31. LaManna was originally supposed to fight Charlo in March on the Gervonta Davis-Lamont Roach card, before Charlo had to withdraw. The fight was then rescheduled for May, but LaManna had already booked a family vacation to Orlando for earlier in April. As a result, LaManna had to find moments away from family and Mickey Mouse to get in his workouts.

Similarly, LaManna, who is holding camp at his own P4P Boxing & Fitness gym in Atco, a south Jersey town near Atlantic City, will travel north with head trainer Reggie Lloyd for fight week activities, while getting in his own training on the side. That means finding a gym to get in his boxing workout before Saturday’s weigh-in, and then pounding the pavement for his roadwork before the show goes live on DAZN at 5pm.

What enables LaManna to juggle so many jobs is his ability to delegate. He has trusted veterans like Alex Seccia and Sarah Elbert, who ensure the show and operations run smoothly, while Mike Walters, whom LaManna got to know from working together on shows in Washington D.C., handles matchmaking. The team has gotten plenty of experience running shows without their figurehead’s constant input due to LaManna often fighting on his own cards.

Sunday’s card hasn’t been without hitches, however. The main event has changed twice. Jonathan Montrel, whom Rising Star Promotions recently signed, had to withdraw from the main event due to a fractured hand. He was then replaced by Kurt Scoby, before Scoby’s opponent withdrew this week. Now, the main event will feature Thomas Blumenfeld, 8-0 (7 KOs), against Christopher Rodriguez, 13-0-1 (11 KOs) in an eight-round junior welterweight fight. Blumenfeld, an American-Canadian dual citizen who was born in Montreal and fought for the Canadian national team, has been making his name on LaManna’s cards and is managed by LaManna’s own manager, Daniel Gonzalez.

Now, Blumenfeld is getting a chance to step into a situation where he can make an impression on a worldwide stage.

“I’m happy that I’m getting the opportunity to headline the card and be on DAZN. I’ve fought at that venue twice before so I have a good familiarity with it, and it’s the perfect opportunity to showcase my skills,” said Blumenfeld, a southpaw who is trained by Hector Bermudez in Springfield, Massachusetts.

“I’ve seen little clips here and there [of my opponent] so we’ve seen all we need to make a solid game plan and get the job done.”

The rest of the card includes a number of other emerging talents from the New Jersey and Philadelphia areas, including welterweight Ismail Muhammad, 7-0 (4 KOs), and junior featherweight Dennis Thompson, 5-0 (3 KOs), who are both promoted by unified welterweight champion Jaron "Boots" Ennis, a friend and training partner of LaManna who has moved his boxers on LaManna's cards.

Also featured will be the pro debuts of New Jersey amateur mainstays Kirc Bargamento and Bernard Gardner, plus popular local attractions Gabriel Gerena and Bruce Seldon Jnr.

Afterwards, LaManna will be locking in on the task at hand against Charlo. LaManna and Charlo met for a virtual face-off earlier in the week, with Charlo, who hasn’t fought since his 2023 decision win over Jose Benavidez Jnr, lashing out in an emotional outburst against LaManna. 

It was another day in the office for LaManna, who has seen just about everything in the sport and has yet to walk away from it.

“This fight means everything because I showed resilience. It’s very cliche, but never give up and dream big. That’s my new slogan outside of ‘Dark Places’: just dream big and put that work in and it’s gonna happen. I like to be a model for the up and coming guys to just keep going. I have five losses and two of them were pretty fucking bad. But you just keep going,” said LaManna.

Fighting on this big platform gives LaManna a chance to bring more exposure to his own promotions, which LaManna believes will lead to greater outcomes down the line when his own fighting days are over.

“I’ve had a dope ass career and it’s been awesome and it’s gonna change on May 31. But I’m almost positive that I’m gonna be an even better promoter,” said LaManna.