Prospect Watch; Lionell “Lonnie B” Thompson

 

www.MP8.ph

By Keith Terceira,

Lionell Thompson aka Lonnie B, is a Buffalo, N.Y. native that boxes in the light heavyweight division and trains with perennial contender Ross Thompson, (no relation) in this my first installment of “Prospect Watch” we are featuring this young man who has a long pedigree of amateur accomplishments, and he has jumped to an 9-0 record, with 6 knockouts to his credit.

 

Thompson recently signed a promotional contract with Hennessy Sports which operates in both Canada and the UK.

Trainer ross Thompson has officially ended his long run as a professional boxer and top contender to focus on the next phase of his life in the sweet science and his corner work is drawing several fighters interested in learning from his wealth of knowledge.

Lonnie’s amateur career includes being Ranked #2 by USA Boxing,

Member of National Team that represented the USA in Connecticut on ABC Sports

Member of National Team that represented the USA in Romania in the Golden Belt Tournament

Western Olympic Trials Gold Medalist

East Olympic Trials Gold Medalist

2007 Nickel City Challenge Champion

5 Time New York state Golden Glove Champion

2 time Empire State Game Gold Medalist

His outside of the ring accomplishments include Graduating from Buffalo State College with a Health and Wellness Degree.

Timothy Ziccardi, manager for Lonnie B, tells us that you won’t find a harder worker in or out of the gym, totally dedicated to boxing.

Most recently Lonnie B took his skills over the border to Quebec and stopped the always tough David Whittom in the fourth round of a scheduled six. Being a Hennessey signed fighter will place the Buffalo native in a position to face off in both US and Canada and perhaps on cards in UK when heavyweight Tyson Fury battles to progress towards the Klitschko brothers.

In another of his most recent bouts Thompson fought on the undercard of ESPN Friday Night Fights that featured Pawel Wolak –Delvin Rodriguez, against another undefeated prospect, Reggie La Crete (4-0-2, 3ko).

Contracted for a six round bout this matchup was rescheduled in the middle of the bout to four rounds due to ESPN time constraints.

“At the start of the fourth round they announced “fourth and final round” and we were a little taken aback but luckily Lonnie had gotten off to a great start so we were way ahead, all three judges scored bout 40-36 and one judge Julie Lederman sent us back word that it was the easiest bout she had ever judged, which I think was very nice of her” Ziccardi informed us while we continued to discuss Lionell’s commitment to the sport.

“He absolutely loves boxing, we gave him off until Wednesday and instead after a six –seven hour drive back to Buffalo he decides to run yesterday, then informs Ross he will be in the gym Monday to work on some things he noticed from fight Friday night. His ring IQ surprises us daily, his work ethic is phenomenal, and he is an extremely smart young man that understands what he has to do to make his dreams in boxing come true. He is not only the most talented guy in the gym but he is the hardest worker, he sets a good example.

” Touching base with Thompson has to be juggled between his work and gym schedule but he joined us today on the ride between the two.

 

MP8: Lonnie, congratulations on your win over David Whittom.

Lonnie B; “Thanks Keith, I’m been training hard and staying focused, I’m dedicated and I want to show people that I can earn the title superstar.”

MP8: Has the transformation from an amateur to pro been easy or difficult for you?

Lonnie B; Actually, the transition from amateur to professional hasn’t been difficult because I train hard every day , when I get in the ring it’s fun , that’s when I get the feeling of release finally it’s here and I enjoy being in the ring. Working with Ross Thompson is awesome because he is showing me a lot of stuff I didn’t think I could do, I feel I was already good defensively, but he is making me better offensively , making me more exciting , giving me that extra slickness so I can beat those solid pros.

MP8: When you heard in the fourth round of the Reggie La Crete bout that it was going to be your final round how did you feel after thinking you had a six round fight?

Lonnie B; I went into the fight planning to break him down physically for four rounds then break him mentally and take him out in later rounds, I thought I broke him down enough but that surprised me to have those two rounds dropped off because I wanted to stop him for my fans.

MP8: What can fans expect from you if they see you’re going to be on a fight card they are attending?

Lonnie B; They are going to see a lot of entertainment, I’m going to do my best to throw a shutout every time I’m out there, I love my fans and thank them for coming to all my fights , I promise them I’m going to be the best fighter I can be for them. I just wish I had the opportunities that some fighters have signing with a promoter, so that I can dedicate all my time to boxing. I’m already showing good things in the ring but once boxing is my fulltime job, then they are going to see something special, I want to be a superstar for my fans. I want to prove to them I’m the next big thing in Boxing.

MP8: What is the hardest part of your professional career?

Lonnie B: I love to train, but the fight for me is getting up going to work every day working a 9-5, when I want to be in the gym. I go to the gym after a long day, train, and then home and run my 5 miles and I do my calisthenics. That’s the fight for me, so once I get thru that schedule every day, when I finally get in the ring that’s the release, that’s when it’s time to have fun. I want to fight every month and just move up in competition so I can make things happen for me and my team. I believe in God and I believe my time is coming.

MP8; Lets flash forward, when you move up who do you want to fight in that big one?

Lonnie B; Andre Ward, that’s my dream , my first big HBO PPV fight, Andre is a solid pro but I want to work hard and be that superstar. No disrespect to Andre but I feel I’m a better boxer, he is a good boxer but I feel I have better skills.

This young light heavyweight has the confidence, continues to grow the skills needed to succeed, and has the dedication in the gym to be one to watch in the future.

Ciao!