Thomas LaManna was gone in nearly 60 seconds the last time he was under the bright lights for a fight, as he was viciously knocked out in the first round vs. Erislandy Lara.

Lara needed eight landed punches to lay away LaManna for the WBA middleweight title in May 2021.

LaManna (39-5-1, 18 KOs) has since strung together nine wins to revive his career, and he’ll be presented with another meaningful opportunity when he takes on Jermall Charlo on Saturday at the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas. The fight will be the co-main event for the PBC on Prime Video card, headlined by Caleb Plant’s battle against Armando Resendiz.

“I feel ready to fight. We put the work in this camp. It’s been a long journey to this point and I’m ready to go,” LaManna said during a media workout. “I learned from the Lara fight that I can’t let the moment get to me. If I can do that all throughout the week and get there to fight night, it’s gonna be a long night for Charlo.

“My whole mindset changed after the Lara fight. I didn’t want to fight anymore. But when I came back, I knew I wanted to do it the right way. I knew this was my big opportunity at the biggest stage. Now I’ve got that great opportunity.”

LaManna has come up short other times, too, whenever he's stepped up the competition. In 2020, he was stopped by Jorge Cota in five rounds and lost a 10-round unanimous decision to Brian Mendoza.

Charlo (33-0, 22 KOs), the former middleweight champion , is not the world beater he once was. He’s fought only once since 2021 because of personal problems.

“Being a good person, I care about Charlo’s mental health struggles and know that it’s real,” said LaManna. “But as far as boxing, I don’t care about it at all. It is what it is. We’re still gonna fight … I definitely have the momentum over Charlo. But we have to let the fights happen. We’re gonna find out on May 31.”

The previous time Charlo fought was November 2023, when he was 3.4 pounds overweight for a 163-pound catchweight bout to beat Jose Benavidez Jr. via unanimous decision. LaManna is moving up from middleweight to make his 168-pound debut, just as Charlo is, for this fight.

“We had a smart camp and did what we had to do,” said LaManna. “We had the right sparring and worked on the right tactics. I’m in shape and I’ve filled into 168 well. I felt the difference fighting at 168 in my last fight. I feel energized and don’t have to cut weight.”

LaManna is also looking to play spoiler, as Charlo and Plant are expected to face each other later this year should they win.

“I’m not looking ahead to anything. I’m fully focused on this fight,” said LaManna. “But when I get past Charlo, I want it all. I want the biggest fights out there.”