By Francisco Salazar

Caleb Truax will not have any nerves or butterflies fighting near his hometown tonight. In fact, he relishes and enjoys fighting before family and friends.

Truax will have another opportunity to fight before familiar faces when he faces former world middleweight titleholder Peter Quillin at The Armory in Minneapolis.

The 10-round bout will headline a three-bout telecast and air live on FS1 (10 p.m. ET/ 7 p.m. PT).

At Friday’s weigh-in, Truax, who resides in nearby Saint Michael, weighed in at 167.8 pounds. Quillin weighed in at 167.6 pounds.

The 35-year-old Truax (30-4-2, 19 knockouts) was victorious in his last bout, which also took place at The Armory, on Aug. 24, stopping Fabiano Soares in the third round.

In his previous fight on Apr. 7, Truax lost by unanimous decision to James DeGale, and in the process, lost the IBF super middleweight title.

Truax is listed as the underdog in tonight’s fight against Quillin. Despite the odds against him, the optimistic Truax believes he has what it takes to win.

“I feel no pressure going into this fight,” Truax told Boxingscene earlier this week. “There’s no better place for me than the state of my mind I’m in. I’ve been more active than Quillin over the last two-three years. He’s only had two fights, while I have stayed busy and fighting often.”

“I’m counting on him to be the best Peter Quillin. I just believe that he might not be as sharp as he would if he were active. I’m always in shape and sparring. I just think the intangibles play to my advantage.”

A lot is on the line for both fighters. Tonight’s fight is an elimination bout for an opportunity to fight for the IBF title, which is currently held by Caleb Plant.

Both fighters are 35 years of age and, in this crossroads bout, a loss would severely derail any attempt to fight again for a world title belt. Truax understands the importance of the fight and what a win would do for the victor.

“It would be very tough to bounce back from a loss,” said Truax, who has a Bachelor’s degree from the University of Minnesota. “The winner gets a world title shot and the loser leave town for good. Some fighters might wait to fight for a title, but I jumped at this opportunity. I’ve never backed down from a challenge and I believe the reward for winning (tonight) would have been worth it.”

Truax is popular amongst sports fans in the Twin Cities, which includes Minneapolis and Saint Paul. Truax has garnered support amongst the major professional and college sports teams, including throwing out the ceremonial first pitch at a recent Minnesota Twins game.

Truax has also garnered attention from chopping wood to running in subzero temperatures. His blue-collar approach and work ethic have gained Truax many fans.

“I’m just a down-to-earth and humble guy out of the ring. I think I’m popular with people because of the blue-collar approach I take, whether it’s in the ring or when I train in the woods. It has always been like that when I played baseball and football in high school and college. I take an athletic approach to how I do things in the ring and it’s helped out a lot.”

Truax has lived by the motto of ‘cut no corners,’ a play of what he believes has brought him success thus far in his personal life and pro boxing career.

Whereas Truax believes Quillin has benefitted from breaks and connections to further his career, Truax is convinced going through correct channels reaps the best rewards.

“I started boxing when I was 19-20 years when other champions and contenders may have started when they were 8-10 years old. Quillin may think that he is better than me or may not take me seriously. I’ve been thoroughly studying film of him, watching as much as I can of him.”

“I live by the adage of ‘cut no corners. I’ve always been someone that does not or will not take shortcuts. It’s worked so far for me and I know it will continue (tonight). He might not need this type of fight, but I do. I’m convinced I’m going to win.”

Francisco A. Salazar has written for krikya360.com since September of 2012 and has covered boxing in Southern California and abroad since 2000. Francisco also covers boxing for the Ventura County (Calif.) Star newspaper. He can be reached by email at santio89@yahoo.com or on Twitter at FSalazarBoxing