“REAL DEAL” OPPORTUNITY FOR NICK COMPTON TONIGHT
Minnesota boxer/mixed martial artist Nick Compton (2-3) of Minneapolis, MN takes on undefeated Evan “Yung Holy” Holyfield (5-0) of Atlanta, Georgia tonight at the Mohegan Sun Casino in Connecticut. The four round fight is an opening bout to tonight’s PBC and Showtime televised card featuring Jaron Ennis vs. Sergey Lipinets. Former Jamal James victim Thomas Dulorme is also featured. Compton-Holyfield is believed to be streamed live on Showtime Sports’ Youtube page. Compton weighed in last night at 155 pounds while Holyfield was slightly less at 154.2 pounds.
Compton understands that he is the “B” side going up against the son of legendary boxer Evander “The Real Deal” Holyfield. However, The Minnesotan says he likes the fight for both it’s high profile nature as well as how he matches up with the younger Holyfield style wise.
“After watching film I saw a fast handed boxer who’s long and rangy” said Compton when asked about Holyfield. “He’s 5-0 but hasn’t fought anyone with a winning record. I get that’s how boxers are built up and probably how they are looking at me. Especially if they are on the “A” side like he is. I saw things that I can definitely work with as far as taking advantage of certain holes. My coaches and a lot of my peers like the Caleb Truax’s and guys with amazing experience gave me the green light as well. I took the fight and I plan on having fun with it. I trained hard and plan on having a blast with this.”
Training camp was solid for Compton who had four weeks to prepare for tonight’s fight at WURK Gym in Minnetonka, MN with former amateur boxer and coach Daleco James. Compton says he clicked with James and was hooked by the gyms vibe shortly after his bout against Danny Huffman in January of 2020. He says it’s a place where he can sharpen his skill training and strength and conditioning while having plenty of sparring. At Wurk, He works with boxers such as Minnesota state super lightweight champion DeLorian Caraway, Marlin Sims and a few up and coming amateurs. MMA fighters Akeela Al-Hameed, Randy Santiago, Ken Glenn, Nate Richardson, Davi Young, and Tommy Peterson also train at the gym.
“Training camp was a hard one, but great” James told Minnesotaboxing.com from Connecticut on fight morning. ” For this fight we are looking to put pressure on this kid and outwork him on the inside. Stay technical and work behind the jab.”
A decision loss against to Sona Akale (3-0) last time out left a sour taste in Compton’s mouth which he says has served as more motivation to continue to improve and show what he can do against a boxer like Evan Holyfield.
“I’m definitely not taking anything away from Sona. He landed a handful of good punches but overall I feel like I controlled the fight and out-boxed him. I countered well and feel like I landed more punches than he did. At the end of the day the judges gave him the decision. It felt like the cards were stacked against me a little which I think played into the judges decision. I’d absolutely like to get that rematch.”
“I’m really not looking to do four round fights anymore like that. If you look at all the experience I have in MMA, I’ve fought title fights which are 25 minutes, five rounds. Five pro boxing matches at four rounds. So I was looking for a six round fight and I’m actually scheduled to box Danny Huffman again in July for six rounds. However, I couldn’t pass up this opportunity to fight on a Showtime card against Evan Holyfield. Even though I wanted six, they only gave us four. For this type of opportunity I will take the four.”
“Fans can expect to see an improved skill set from me. I plan on making him feel like this isn’t like those other five fights. That this is different. This is like a little Rocky moment for me”.
“I’m bringing action, that’s for sure. I want to thank my team at WURK Gym, my family and friends, my girlfriend and that’s about it! I’m just enjoying the ride.”