Nick "Stoneman" Firtha Fight

To join the thousands of fans expected at Thursday’s fight, contact Joe or Nicolai Firtha at 330-935-2692. Confident Firtha ready to rumble Local pro boxer will fight Thursday night in Wheeling, West Virginia -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- By Eric Henry Record-Courier correspondent In the high stakes world of professional athletics, the premium is on winning. Yet in the ultra-competitive profession of boxing, losses are inevitable. The mark of a true champion is one who responds well to a loss, one who grows from the experience and uses the disappointment to fuel his desire and passion. Local professional boxer Nicolai “The Stoneman” Firtha has not lost yet, but he’s tasted some disappointment. The Randolph native remains undefeated as a pro at 3-0-1, and may have experienced the best of both worlds by fighting to a draw in his last bout on November 24th against Chicago’s Lamar Stevens. While he remains on the fast-track to the heavyweight elite, the draw made Firtha take a step back and examine what has got him where he is, and what it will take to get to the next level. Right from the start, Firtha knew Stevens was not going to be a pushover. “He was tough, built, ready to go,” Firtha said. Fighting in Stevens’ hometown of Rosemont, Illinois, Firtha had to deal with the crowd as well as his high-caliber opponent. “The crowd was definitely for him in the first three rounds,” said Firtha. “In rounds four, five and six we just slugged it out, and had the crowd on its feet. I took a few more shots than I would have liked, but I dished out my fair share. “I think I won the fight. But being in the guy’s hometown, I didn’t win it by enough so they called it a draw.” In the wake of the fight, Firtha has examined his errors as a professional and what he must do to correct them. “I learned some really hard lessons,” he said. “I had to do some thinking about things. I was too concerned about the win. Performance and execution have to be there, and I think that lagged a little bit. “The fight game is a direct correlation of your life. If you have holes in your foundation from your life standpoint, it’s going to show up in the ring.” But the boxer who won renown after a sterling amateur career is now progressing to t he next level in his career after addressing his weakness. “I’ve got to be in the ring to please myself, and I think that’s what I got away from,” said Firtha. “I like to make people happy; by nature that’s who I am. When I’m trying to pop people’s eyes out and step up the ladder you have to please yourself and follow through with your gameplan. That’s how you win.” The Stoneman, known for his power and savvy, will now take the ring with a chip on his shoulder. He’s out to prove that his standout career is just getting started, and he’s out to do it for himself. “I’ve definitely filled the holes in my game,” he said. Now it’s back to doing what he does best: Punching holes in the competition. Firtha will fight next at the celebrated Mountaineer Casino in Wheeling, West Virginia on Thursday. Despite his success, he must deal with an opponent familiar to many young boxers: Filling the seats. “It’s such a privilege to fight at Mountaineer, it’s kind of required of me to sell so many tickets,” he said. “It’s kind of a test run for me to see what kind of following I can get.” The local fans who’ve seen Firtha’s dominance in the ring might not need much more of an excuse to make the trip to Mountaineer on December 30th. But for those who have not seen the man billed as “Akron’s next great heavyweight,” Thursday would be an opportune time to check Firtha out. Yet to be determined is the Stoneman’s opponent in the ring. Several prominent fighters have already backed out, but whomever he fights is in for a wild ride. “I might just come out, run across the corner and try to take this guy out,” Firtha said. “I’m so high on myself and so confident, I feel invigorated since I made this resurgence from a personality standpoint and from a boxing standpoint. I just want to go out and take somebody out in round one. People can expect to see that.”