By Steve Kim

For Luis Arias, taking on Arif Magomedov was his chance to showcase his skills to a world-wide audience which hadn't seen him in a few years.

This fight took place this past Saturday night at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas on the pay-per-view undercard to the Andre Ward vs. Sergey Kovalev rematch.

And Arias came through big with a fifth round stoppage of the rugged Russian.

It's exactly the statement that Arias (who improved to 18-0, 9 KO's) hoped to make.

"Yeah, 100 percent, 100 percent and I said I would knock the kid out. I said it wasn't going to be the toughest fight of my career, just on paper," Arias told krikya360.com. "And I proved it, I got him out of there, I completely dominated. I made my case to be one of the best in the division."

As for what's next, Arias stated - "Well, it's only Tuesday but I've gotten my congratulations email from the team, I'm looking forward to getting some HBO dates, getting some exposure and getting some names. So that's the plan, figure something out, secure the next date."

So when would Arias like to get back into the ring?

"I would like to fight the last week of August or first week of September. That way I can get in two more fights before the year is up and I'm ready. I didn't take any punishment, the fight was only five rounds. I just need a week or two to myself and I'm willing to get back into camp."

Last weekend's bout was the second of the year for Arias, who in March picked up a decision win over Scott Sigmon. Last year, Arias saw action three times with wins over Darryl Cunningham, Jorge Silva and Gilberto Dos Santos. 

Steve Kim is the news editor for krikya360.com.