American welterweights Dusty Hernandez-Harrison and Thomas LaManna will square off on Sept. 16, promoter Debra LaManna told RingTV.com on Wednesday evening.

The 10-round bout will take place at the Trump Taj Mahal in Atlantic City, New Jersey, and the vacant USBA welterweight title and a top 15 IBF world ranking will be on the line. Rising Star Promotions, who represent LaManna, will promote the card.

The bout features two young East Coast fighters who know each other well, having sparred on occasion over the last couple of years.

Hernandez-Harrison (29-0-1, 16 KOs), who is 22 years of age, has built a significant following in the Washington, D.C. area, where he resides. In his most recent bout, on May 13, he fought to a 10-round split decision draw against Mike Dallas, a fight some media and fans thought Dallas did enough to win.

“As long as you learn and move forward, that’s the most important thing,” a positive Hernandez-Harrison told RingTV.com on Wednesday.

Hernandez-Harrison, who made his pro debut three weeks after his 17th birthday, was used for sparring earlier this year by Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez in preparation for the Amir Khan fight.

LaManna (21-1, 9 KOs) resides in nearby Millville and figures to have a partisan crowd in his favour on fight night.

He has won five in a row since his only defeat, suffered at the hands of Antoine Douglas in March of last year. Last time out, on Jul. 22, the 24-year-old stopped Engleberto Valenzuela in the first round in Atlantic City.

As attractive as the fight is between Hernandez-Harrison and LaManna, the card will reportedly not be nationally televised.

Francisco A. Salazar has written for RingTV since October of 2013 and has covered boxing in Southern California and abroad since 2000. Francisco also covers boxing for the Ventura County (CA) Star newspaper, Boxingscene.com, and Knockout Nation. He can be reached by email at [email protected] or on Twitter @FSalazarBoxing