Rob Nichols has spent the past few months as an anxious man. A man that knew not what the future held in store for him. After attempting to land fights and finding it very difficult to land fights; especially against cruiserweights, his wish came true.
Sterling Craig, the trainer of Nichols announced on Friday, June 28th that after negotiating with KO Boxing they finally landed their opponent and that man is Nick Penner. Though Penner is an MMA fighter, he shall prove to be quite the test for Nichols and vise versa. And to top that all off there is a twist to the bout. Penner used to train under Craig and was training partners with Nichols in the past.
“I have agreed to fight Rob Nichols in September on the KO show. He is a friend, former training partner and all around good guy. He is trained by Sterling, an old coach of mine and one person I admire and respect more than most people could understand. I don’t like this situation but as the MMA community knows, I will fight friends as long as they are not training partners. I’m in a tough fight against a very talented boxer. The odds don’t looks too good for me. It’s not my sport but I will become a boxer. Maybe not in time for this fight, but I will become a boxer,” said Penner.
“Though fighting a friend is tough for any fighter business is business and for these two fighters who have a hard time finding opponents it is what they need. I have nothing but respect for anyone I step in the ring with, whether it be sparring or on fight night. In this business there is always the potential chance of facing off against someone you know and train with and like as a friend and a fighter. But you are a professional (fighter) that I will shake hands with before and after we face off. Anyone that knows us knows how we handle ourselves. I say we give them a great show and represent our fight community and the people that got us here,” said Nichols who is in the hunt for the Canadian Cruiserweight Title.
As for Craig… he must train his friend and fighter (Nichols) to face off and beat another one of his friends and one of his former pupils. The challenge is tough to anyone with a heart of gold such as Craig’s but at the end of the day nothing will change and work has to be done. “I have a great respect for Rob and Nick. Sometimes things happen in boxing where two guys you like and care for have to test each other in the ring. It’s part of the sport. That being said, this will be a hell of a fight. You both have my respect,” said Craig.
The fight will take place on September 13th on the KO Boxing card “Killer Instinct” in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
