By Francisco Salazar

Home is where the heart is. For Luis Arias, that home is Milwaukee, Wis.

Back on June 4, his last fight, Arias knocked out Jorge Silva in the third round. That was Arias' first fight in his hometown as a pro.

Having fought across the country, Arias believed that one day he could headline a card in his hometown. With that taking place a few months ago, Arias hopes Milwaukee would take place consistently and permanently in Milwaukee.

"I have an incredible following here in Milwaukee," Arias told BoxingScene.com on Thursday. "There's a strong fan base for boxing. I'm doing my part to be a good ticket-seller."

Arias faces Darryl Cunningham in a 10 round middleweight bout tonight at the Wisconsin Center in Milwaukee.

With the city of Milwaukee under turmoil over a recent officer-involved shooting, Arias hopes his performance tonight could bring about a positive vibe over the city.

"There's a lot of negativity here and I'm just trying to bring something good for the city. I'm born and bred here and I don't like seeing what's happening in the city."

"It's disappointing because riots don't do anything. The community has to pick up the pieces and fix things because the state government won't do it. I just hope my performance brings good to the city."

Arias is now promoted by Roc Nation, whereas he began his career under the Mayweather Promotions banner.

According to the 26-year-old Arias, his career was stagnant with Mayweather Promotions. Roc Nation does have the stereotype in boxing of not promoting their young fighters.

"When I was with (Mayweather Promotions), I saw how dirty this game is. Certain people were saying this and that, but at the end of the day, they were looking out for themselves. This is a cut-throat business. I understand that, but bad things were happening behind me and closed doors."

"The funny thing is that the fighters (they) promote are the ones who have lost or haven't done well. (Andrew) Tabiti is the only one who is unbeaten."

Arias has a lot of upside and could make a run in the middleweight division. One thing he hopes to do is fight at the Bradley Center in Milwaukee, which is home to the NBA's Bucks.

"There's a new arena being constructed and it's supposed to open in two-three years. I would love to headline the first boxing card there."

Arias has big dreams, but that is all dependent to how he does in the next couple of years. He must first get by Cunningham tonight.

"I want to win by knockout. I'm going to win by knockout (tonight)."

Arias and Cunningham will be fighting for the vacant USBA and WBC USNBC middleweight titles.

Also on the Seconds Out Promotions card, super middleweight Caleb Truax (26-3-2, 16 KOs) will face Zachariah Kelley (5-15 1 NC, 5 KOs) in an eight round bout.

Junior middleweight Carson Jones (38-11-3, 28 KOs) will fight Starr Johnson (5-23-1, 4 KOs) in an eight round bout.

Francisco A. Salazar has written for Boxingscene.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, RingTV, and Knockout Nation. He can be reached by email at santio89@yahoo.com or on Twitter at FSalazarBoxing