Firtha Shocks Grano, TKO’s him in 2

With the upset win over Travis Kauffman still fresh in his mind and his single loss recently avenged, Tony Grano was undoubtedly looking towards bigger and better things for himself in a wide open heavyweight division. It seems as though his opponent, the 6’6 258 pound Nicolai Firtha was brought in as a test to get Grano ready for the big boys of the heavyweight upper echelon. If it was, Grano failed miserably.

At the start of the fight, Firtha wisely used his longer reach and kept Grano at the end of his jab. Frustrated, Grano swung wildly with left hooks and ate even more jabs as a result. Each jab Firtha landed had an audible thud and Grano seemed at a loss as to how he would get inside. Eventually, he did manage to find his way inside and in his best moment in the fight, unleashed a string of body shots followed by a left hook, right hand combo that momentarily buzzed Firtha. For a fleeting second it seemed as if Grano was going to gain control of the fight. That second quickly passed when Firtha landed a chopping right hand inside that shook Grano up and had him backpedaling. A follow up right hand dropped Grano at the end of the round and as he rose, the bell to end round one sounded.

Round two was even worse for Grano who again had trouble getting inside and began to eat jab, right hand combos from the increasingly confident Firtha. Even in close Firtha took command, shoving around the smaller Grano and landing good shots inside. Grano seemed completely out of his depth as round two wore on and Firtha kept banging away, dropping Grano for a second time via another flush right hand. When Grano rose it was clear that he was out of it as he retreated to the ropes where Firtha tee’s off, landing perhaps more than 10 flush, unanswered head shots. As referee Dick Flaherty jumped in to stop the fight, Grano was trying gamely to fire back which prompted those in the audience to boo the stoppage. Though it may have seemed a bad time to stop the fight, Grano nearly fell from his unsteady legs after the fight was over and most likely would have been seriously hurt had the fight not been called. Time of the stoppage was 2:15 of round two.

Perhaps it was overconfidence that caused Grano to put in such a poor performance against the taller and heavier Firtha but the fact remains that Grano has been dropped in 4 of his last 5 fights; all but one against sub-par opposition. His chin is shaky at best and in a division where every fighter has the ability to end things with one punch, Grano’s future as a contender is unclear. Regardless of Grano’s stance in the heavyweight picture, all credit should be given to Firtha who came in thinking upset and backed it up with his fists. Firtha is now 18-7-1 7KOs while Grano slips to 17-2-1 13KOs.

In the bizarre co-main event, Hartford CT’s Mike Oliver earned victory via an 8th round DQ against Miami FL’s Mauricio Pastrana. The fight started well for Oliver who was more aggressive than usual, throwing multiple punches in combination and forcing the physically stronger Pastrana against the ropes. Pastrana had little to offer in return and mostly covered up and tied up for the first three rounds. In the fourth, it started to become obvious that Pastrana was getting frustrated as he began to try and rough Oliver up on the inside. This included trying to spin Oliver when the fighters were in a clinch and as a result, Oliver also began to get frustrated. The two exchanged at close range as the seconds to the fourth round dwindled down and when the bell finally rang, neither fighter let up. Referee Michael Ortega had to physically separate both fighters as they continued to wing punches.

Oliver switched over to boxing in the fifth and tried to create distance between himself and Pastrana who was content to eat shots for a chance to get inside. When he did get there, Pastrana seemed at a loss for what to do and again tried to maul Oliver in the clinch. During the 6th round Pastrana actually threw Oliver to the canvas in a clinch, prompting referee Michael Ortega to dock him a point. The dirty tactics continued in the 7th when Pastrana was again deducted a point for an infraction that was unclear to those sitting at ringside. Oliver came out of a clinch clutching his arm before Ortega took a point from Pastrana and it’s likely that he twisted Oliver’s arm in an attempt to slow his offense. Ironically Pastrana had been doing well earlier in the round by landing flush right hands inside and it’s likely that the only round he picked up on the scorecards was nullified by the point deduction. At the start of the 8th and final round, it was clear that Pastrana was too far behind to win on the cards and perhaps desperate and out of options, Pastrana again threw Oliver to the canvas when the two were in a clinch. Referee Ortega had seen enough at that point and DQ’d Pastrana at 43 seconds of the 8th. Regardless of the outcome, Oliver looked good in his performance and has begun to get himself back on track for a title shot. His record is now 24-2 8KOs. Pastrana, who deserved the DQ, drops his 7th fight in the last 8 and is now 35-14-2 23KOs.

Junior welterweights Edwin Soto (New Haven, CT) and Bryan Abraham (Schenectady, NY) battled to a 4 round majority draw in a fight that was as close as it’s verdict. From the onset Soto tired to press the action behind a jab, right hand combo but mid-way through the first Abraham began to counter him with well timed counter rights. Every round was close and scoring them depended on whether you favored Abraham’s harder counter shots, or Soto’s aggressiveness. In the end two judges favored neither, scoring the fight an even 38-38. The third judge had it 39-37 Abraham. Both fighters notch a draw to their records with Soto now at 4-0-1 2KOs and Abraham at 2-3-2 2KOs.

Up and coming light heavyweight prospect Joe Smith Jr. of Long Island, NY notched another impressive KO win to run his undefeated record to 5-0 5KOs. Smith’s opponent Walter Foster Jr. (4-3-1 4KOs) of Berkeley, MO was outgunned from the start and was put to the canvas via a right hand in the opening ten seconds of the fight. Foster, who was more off balance than hurt, tried to land a few right hands after getting up but was kept constantly out of position by the jabs and hooks of Smith. Smith also began to drop left hooks to the liver of Foster and it seemed only a matter of time before Smith overwhelmed him. That moment came in the second when Smith landed a left hook to the top of Foster’s head that dropped him on all fours. Foster rose on shaky legs and a follow up flurry from Smith was enough to convince referee Dick Flaharety to stop the fight. Time of the stoppage was 1:39 of round 2. Smith is swiftly becoming a prospect to keep an eye on and seems to have a bright future ahead of him.

Though he shares a famous last name, super middleweight Rick Dawson doesn’t possess nearly the same skill-set as his brother. His 4 round unanimous decision over Toledo, OH’s Jeremiah Jones was punctuated by a distinct reluctance on the part of both fighters to engage one another. Dawson was the fighter coming forward but did little in the way of punching. His best moments were found when he utilized his lead right hooks, a few of which he was able to follow with straight left hands. Jones fought like a scared fighter for the majority of the bout and did even less punching than the cautious Dawson. The final scores read 40-36 and 39-37 (twice) all in favor of Dawson who is now 2-0 1KO. Jones dropped his third fight in a row and stands at 1-4-1.

Junior welterweight Frankie Trader (7-0 2KOs)of Philadelphia, PA pot-shotted his way to a dull 4 round unanimous decision against Springfield, MA native Noel Gracia (2-4-1 1KO.) Trader landed nearly every punch he threw but was so sparing in his output that it made a dominant performance tedious to watch. Garcia attempted to land wild right hands but missed consistently and was never in contention at any point during the fight. Scores at the end of the scheduled 4 rounds were 40-36 across the board.

Local featherweight Luis Rosa of New Haven, CT won every second of his 4 round bout en route to a last minute stoppage of Seldon, NY’s John Passantino. Rosa opened up with a two fisted body attack and didn’t let up at any point during the fight. Passantino did well to soak up the punishment but offered little in return and finally took a knee late into the fourth. After he rose, a final flurry from Rosa was enough to convince referee Danny Schiavone to end the one-sided affair. Rosa improves to 3-0 2KOs while Passantino loses his debut and stands at 0-1. Time of the stoppage was 1:15 of round 4.

In the opening bout of the evening pro debuting Jonathan Vasquez (Fall River, MA ) sparked out fellow junior welterweight Carlos Hernandez (Bridgeport, CT) in the first round of a scheduled 4 rounder. A counter left hook early in the round dropped Hernandez mid-punch. Hernandez rose and continued fighting only to eat another vicious counter left hook that laid him prostrate on the canvas and in need of medical attention. After the ring was cleared, the official time of 2 minutes 18 seconds was announced and Vasquez got hear himself declared the victor for the first time in his fledgling pro career. Hernandez lost his second bout in as many appearances and will hopefully recover from the truly brutal knockout he suffered.