If his pre-fight insistence pans out, Chris Arreola should enter the ring this weekend at his lightest weight in more than five years.

The real goal, however, is to offer the most disciplined version of the three-time heavyweight title challenger. More so than his physical appearance, Arreola plans to be at his most aware and elusive in his all-Mexican heavyweight showdown with former unified heavyweight titlist Andy Ruiz (33-2, 22KOs).

“I have worked nonstop on defense with Joe,” Arreola (38-6-1, 33KOs) insisted to Fox Sports’ Heidi Androl when asked what has separated this training camp from any other in his 18-year pro career. “That’s one thing we emphasized in this camp—counterpunch and bring those hands back.

“I don’t want another Bermane Stiverne (situation) happening to me. He broke my nose the first time. The second time, he knocked me out. I can’t have that happen in front of my kids, in front of my fans. All I know, I’m going to give [Ruiz] a war and I’m going to give him a great fight.”

Saturday’s showdown with Ruiz marks the second straight fight with renowned trainer Joe Goossen manning the corner of Arreola.

The two put in the necessary work for Arreola’s last outing, a 12-round unanimous decision defeat to then-unbeaten Adam Kownacki. Arreola—38 at the time—set the Compubox record with 1,125 punches thrown, the most ever by a heavyweight since the company began recording punch stats beginning in 1985. The bruising heavyweight landed 283-of-995 power punches, offering a high-volume fight since the style matchup called for such an approach.

While the now 40-year-old California native plans to bring the pain this weekend, a more methodical approach is promised against Ruiz who is viewed as among the division’s most effective technicians.

“To be honest, they’re both two very different fighters,” Arreola explains in the differing approaches for Kownacki and Ruiz. “Someone like Adam, we just bang it out, slug it out.

“With something like Andy, I have to be very aware at all times. He has fast fans—obviously by far, the fastest hands in the heavyweight division. I have to make sure to bring my hands back and move my head. This is going to be a great fight. It has to be a good matchup.”

The upcoming bout headlines a four-fight Fox Sports Pay-Per-View event, airing live from Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson, California.

Jake Donovan is a senior writer for BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox