Prescott's Danny Hilton set to make professional boxing debut on March 23 in Houston

PRESCOTT, AZ. —Danny Hilton walked into a Prescott, Arizona, Brazilian jiu-jitsu club with his head held high, with a little bit of swagger.

Hilton was boasting with confidence after having won some fistfights in his day. The fight business should be a piece of cake, right?

Hilton learned very quickly that the business was more than just a business, but a way of life. However, the way his story has unfolded might have been a little different if he hadn't walked into the wrong class.

"I thought I was going to kickboxing, but it was the ring, and they were doing jiu-jitsu," Hilton said. "I'll never forget it, being completely helpless rolling with one of the guys (Coach Jon Kessler)."

Hilton accumulated a professional record of 7-5 as a professional MMA fighter but has made the switch to professional boxing and trains under Jarek Slagowski at Grind Boxing, also in Prescott. Hilton had trained with Slagowski in the past, but now it is on a full-time basis.

"I just kinda lost some motivation for Jiu-Jitsu, and my body hasn’t been receiving it well, so I thought it was a perfect time to try some boxing.

"I have been trying to put Prescott on the map for a long time I think I’ve done a little bit, but my goal is to make people proud of Prescott. A lot of people who live here bag on it and I think it's a copout or a trend to hate the town you grew up in, but this place has stood by me. I swear man the amount of support and love this town has shown me over the years is insane; I can’t even believe it," Hilton added.

Hilton is slated to make his professional boxing debut at Premier Boxing Club in Houston against Edward Aceves (0-5). But Hilton says not to look at his opponent's record, but his opposition.

"He has only fought guys who are good, so it is tough to say how tough he is."

Hilton does make a solid point. Aceves has been knocked out in all five of his bouts. But all of those fighters have also never lost, either.

As for working for Slagowski, Hilton says they are polar opposites, but when they are in the gym, it is not an issue.

"We are complete opposites but find a lot of common ground. He is European and lived on the east coast for a while so you can imagine his love for arguing," Hilton laughed.

"We butt heads a lot, but it’s good because we are not afraid to express ourselves to each other we are both stubborn but can admit when we are wrong.

"He teaches me a lot of things and genuinely cares about me, so I trust him. He added a ton to my MMA game. Before I joined the club, I was just an outside fighter with a lot of bad habits."

But on another important note, who is Hilton's favorite boxer?

"To be honest I don’t follow a ton of boxing," Hilton admitted. "I could tell you like 10 fighters I follow, but if I have to pick anyone; it's Caleb Plant. He has been my favorite for a long time. I don't even know how I found out about him, but I pretend I'm him when I box."

Plant (18-0, 10 KO's), 26, a Tennessee native based in Las Vegas, is a super middleweight world titleholder. He outpointed Jose Uzcategui on Jan. 13 to win his first world title.