Middleweight Eric Priest aims to take his next step toward title contention by defeating veteran Luis Arias on Friday night at the Virgin Hotels in Las Vegas. 

Priest, 15-0 (8 KOs), last fought in January, getting the best of Tyler Howard. His fight with Arias, 22-4-1 (11 KOs), will be his fourth straight 10-round bout, each ending in a wide unanimous decision win thus far – Howard’s last three opponents won just one round on two scorecards between them. 

Priest trains at Brickhouse Boxing with Julian Chua and Yogy Winder, both of whom caught up with BoxingScene ahead of their fighter’s next challenge.

“We had really good sparring for this camp with Fabian Guzman, a Golden Boy prospect,” Chua told BoxingScene. 

“He came into camp in better shape,” Winder told BoxingScene. “He's been locked in and just ready to go from the beginning of the camp.”

Often, egos get in the way of duos coaching a fighter. With Chua and Winder, that isn’t the case. 

"It's just a mutual respect, not only for each other's boxing brains, which are very similar, but we respect each other as human beings,” Chua said. “The star is the fighter. That’s it.”

Winder added that, “There is nothing egotistical about it.” 

Priest is a 26-year-old who trains in Los Angeles. Though he has a deep amateur pedigree, he doesn’t have the same professional experience as Arias, who has been pro since 2012. Winder spoke of focus being a key to this fight.

Arias, a 34-year-old originally from Milwaukee, is a crafty veteran on a two-fight winning streak since being stopped by Erickson Lubin in 2023. Arias has also fought the estimable Daniel Jacobs and fearless Gabe Rosado.

“It doesn't even matter who the opponent is. I think that's just a part of his development right now, is just making sure that he's locked in and ready to go,” Winder said.

Chua believes that big things are ahead for Priest as he has set a timeline for his career. 

“I want him to be active,” Chua said. “I want him to fight for a world title within the next 18 months or so.”

As for where they see Priest entering into his upcoming fight, Chua summed it up.

"I just really feel like he's coming into himself,” Chua said. “I feel like he sees his improvements and how much better he's been getting and I think that it's only going to propel him to perform even better and better each time. So, I think that this fight, he's going to really shine.”