{"id":3368,"date":"2010-06-24T10:00:13","date_gmt":"2010-06-24T14:00:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/?p=3368"},"modified":"2010-06-24T10:00:13","modified_gmt":"2010-06-24T14:00:13","slug":"nicolai-firtha-planning-to-upset-tony-grano","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/?p=3368","title":{"rendered":"Nicolai Firtha Planning to Upset Tony Grano"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Full Court Press Release<\/strong><\/p>\n

Ohio heavyweight Nicolai \u201cStone Man\u201d Firtha has made multiple visits to New England visiting relatives, but this Saturday night he\u2019ll make his first business trip there, challenging Hartford heavyweight favorite Tony \u201cTNT\u201d Grano in the 10-round main event on the \u201cPride & Power\u201d boxing show, presented by Jimmy Burchfield\u2019s Classic Entertainment and Sports, Inc. (CES), at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m looking forward to fighting in New England for the first time,\u201d Firtha said. \u201cI have a lot of family there and hope that they\u2019ll be supporting me at the fight. I\u2019m humbled by this opportunity because I\u2019m not with a big promoter and it is tough getting good fights like this. I\u2019m hoping to be discovered. I only had a 2 \u00bd-week notice \u2013 I was carrying my golf clubs \u2013 but I stay in good shape and ready for a call like we received.<\/p>\n

\u201cStyles make fights; I\u2019m a classic boxer-puncher, he\u2019s a classic slugger. The key for me is keeping him on the outside, boxing, and keeping my back off of the ropes. I want the action in the center of the ring. If I\u2019m on the ropes, I lose. At some point in the fight, though, it\u2019s going to be go-time, and I won\u2019t go back.\u201d<\/p>\n

Firtha (17-7-1, 7 KOs) and Grano (17-1-1, 13 KOs), whose four-round knockout of previously undefeated Travis Kaufman last September on Showtime was named The Ring magazine\u2019s 2009 Heavyweight Fight of the Year, will battle for the vacant NABA-US title.<\/p>\n

\u201cNick is 6\u2019 6\u201d and 245 pounds,\u201d Firtha\u2019s manager Pat Nelson added. \u201cYou\u2019d never know he\u2019s a fighter by the way he speaks and he looks like Kurt Warner. He\u2019s a Klitschko prototype. It\u2019s going to be a super competitive fight. I feel Nick possess more size and power, as well as more skill in the ring, than Grano. We\u2019re anxious for the fight and hope that a big win will propel Firtha into the WBA world ratings.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hartford super bantamweight Mike \u201cMachine Gun\u201d Oliver (23-2, 8 KOs), the reigning New England and EBA champion, will be in a crossroads fight to continue his journey back to the top of the 122-pound division, taking on 4-time world title-holder Mauricio \u201cIndio Boy\u201d Pastrana (35-13-2, 23 KOs) in the 8-round co-feature.<\/p>\n

Long Island light heavyweight Joe \u201cThe Irish Bomber\u201d Smith Jr. (4-0, 4 KOs), the 2008 New York Golden Gloves Champion, goes for his fifth consecutive first-round knockout in his fifth pro fight against Walter Foster (4-2-1, 4 KOs) of Panama City, Panama.<\/p>\n

CES Ring of Honor Induction \u2013 Jamie Silva<\/strong><\/p>\n

One of New England\u2019s best football players, Jamie Silva, will be inducted into the CES Ring of Honor as an honorary member. Silva was the 2002 Rhode Island Player of the Year and he earned first team, All-America honors in 2007 as a safety at Boston College. He is a member of the defending American Football Conference champion Indianapolis Colts.<\/p>\n

Also on the undercard in 4-round bouts are New Haven middleweight \u201cSlick\u201d Rick Dawson (1-0, 1 KO), brother of light heavyweight star \u201cBad\u201d Chad Dawson, vs. Jeremiah Jones (1-3-1), of Toledo, Ohio; Bridgeport (CT) super lightweight Carlos Hernandez (0-1) vs. Fall River\u2019s (MA) pro-debuting Jonathan Vasquez; New Haven junior welterweight Edwin Soto (4-0, 2 KOs) vs. Bryan Abraham (2-3-1, 2 KOs); New Haven prospect Luis Rosa, Jr. (2-0) vs. pro-debuting John Passantino of Seldon, NY, and unbeaten Philadelphia welterweight Frankie Trader (6-0, 2 KOs) vs. Springfield\u2019s (MA) Noel Garcia (2-3-1, 1 KO). All fights and fighters are subject to change.<\/p>\n

Tickets for \u201cPride & Power,\u201d priced at $40.00, $65.00 and $105.00, are available to purchase by calling CES (401.724.2253\/2254), going online at www.cesboxing.com or at the Mohegan Sun Box Office. Ticketmaster customers may log on to www.ticketmaster.com, call Ticketmaster\u2019s national toll-free charge by phone (1.800.745.3000) or visit any Ticketmaster outlet.<\/p>\n

Advertise Now On RSR<\/a><\/p>\n

Purchase Boxing Interviews Of A Lifetime<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Full Court Press Release Ohio heavyweight Nicolai \u201cStone Man\u201d Firtha has made multiple visits to New England visiting relatives, but this Saturday night he\u2019ll make his first business trip there, challenging Hartford heavyweight favorite Tony \u201cTNT\u201d Grano in the 10-round main event on the \u201cPride & Power\u201d boxing show, presented by Jimmy Burchfield\u2019s Classic Entertainment […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[150,325,10619,713],"class_list":["post-3368","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-boxing-news","tag-ces","tag-heavyweights","tag-nicolai-stone-man-firtha","tag-tony-grano"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3368","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3368"}],"version-history":[{"count":-3,"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3368\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3368"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3368"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3368"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}