From La. to LA: Former MC resident in title bout

A man who grew up in Morgan City is about to step into a boxing ring in Los Angeles.
He will climb between the ropes as the holder of a 16-0 professional record with 11 knockouts and six first-round finishes. He’ll also try to live up to what may be the best nickname in boxing history.
He’s Deonte “Lay Em Down” Brown.
Brown, 29, is headlining the BoxFest XVI fight card Friday at the Commerce Casino in Los Angeles. It’s a 10-round super featherweight bout for the WBA Continental Americas title. His opponent will be Grimardi Machuca, a Venezuelan with a 17-2 record with 14 knockouts.
“I’m going to go out there and put on a show and get a victory,” Brown said in a phone interview Tuesday. “I feel good. We’ve been training hard. I feel ready.”
The Friday card is promoted by Red Owl Boxing and will be streamed on the DAZN service. The maximum weight for super featherweights is 130 pounds.
Brown lived in Morgan City and attended local schools before moving with his family to Georgia when he was 13. His grandmother, Joyce Brown, recently moved from Morgan City to Lafayette.
In Georgia, an older cousin who boxed began taking Brown to the gym every day. That led to his entry into the Georgia Golden Gloves.
Along the way, he became Lay Em Down Brown.
“My barber came up with the name,” Brown remembered. “I was going to him since I was kid. He was more than just a barber.”
By 2017, he was ready to turn pro. “I was kind of green,” he said. “We had to jump over some hurdles. It’s a business, too.”
After achieving early success, Brown, a father of two, took a three-year break. He returned to the ring April 4 in Houston by winning an eight-round unanimous decision over Dennis “El Martillo” Contreras in a lightweight bout.
Brown is trained by Chelo Betancourt in New York
The 11-bout BoxFest XVI bout starts at 7 p.m. Central Daylight Time.