Thomas 'Cornflake' Lamanna hates thinking about what took place in 2021.

The 32-year-old was on a decent run, winning two straight, before jumping into the ring with Erislandy Lara. It was an opportunity of a lifetime for Lamanna. The vacant WBA secondary middleweight title was on the line and he saw Lara as a gateway to championship status.

Those dreams, however, were short-lived. It took Lara just over a minute to get rid of Lamanna. Since then, he shook off his despondency and got himself back on track. The results have been exactly what he’s been hoping for, winning seven straight, including a seventh-round knockout over Nicolas Hernandez a few weeks ago.

Now, with a few wins under his belt against nondescript opponents, Lamanna believes it’s time to fight the big boys again.

A rematch with Lara would be ideal, but Lamanna isn’t openly pursuing it. Ideally, if everything breaks just right, he would love to fight Danny Garcia next.

Garcia, ironically enough, is looking to line up a fight with Lara. Lamanna though, believes he should look past Lara and face him instead. Although he’s a bit older, Garcia is convinced that his championship window isn’t quite closed. From Lamanna’s point of view, nevertheless, if they swapped fists, he’ll prove that Garcia isn’t in his league.

“He's old, slow and small,” Lamanna told YSM Sports Media. “He’s got a mean left hook, get rid of that and that’s it.”

Garcia, 36, isn’t the most active fighter around. Since 2020, he’s appeared just once, a lopsided victory over Jose Benavidez Jr. in 2022. For now, he’ll continue to be patient. If a showdown against Lara officially falls through, he did express a desire to take Lamanna up on his fight offer.

If he does, Lamanna wholeheartedly believes that Garcia will regret it instantly.

“He’s a former multiple division world champion for a reason but obviously, size matters but also, skills pay the bills.”