GROVE CITY, Ohio — If Chad Van Sickle loses, he will retire.

No pressure there.

Actually, the 30-year-old heavyweight boxer from the Columbus, Ohio, area isn't feeling any as he prepares for his 10-round fight with Butler's Brian Minto.

The bout is scheduled for April 27 at Mountaineer Race Track and Gaming Resort in Chester, W.Va.

"I'll quit if I lose,"Van Sickle said. "I don't care how close the fight is. This is all or nothing for me."

The 6-foot-2, 210-pound Van Sickle is 22-7-3 with 12 knockouts as a pro. He is only 2-7-1 in his last 10 bouts, however, with the wins being majority and split decisions.

That's quite a fall from grace for a fighter who once was 18-0-2 and ranked among the top 10 cruiserweights in the world.

Van Sickle is now ranked 224th in the heavyweight division by boxrec.com.

"I moved up to heavyweight to make more money, for bigger fights and better opponents,"Van Sickle said.

When he first turned pro, Van Sickle maintained the momentum from a four-year amateur career that produced a 32-6 record.

He claims mismanagement created his current 2-7-1 stretch that dates back to November 2005.

"I was thrown into fights I wasn't ready for,"Van Sickle said. "I faced undefeated guys on two-weeks notice. That's just not enough time to train.

"I've got more than six weeks to get ready for Brian. I'm in the best shape I've been in for years. .

"Iknow Mountaineer is prime Minto territory. I used to go into other guys' hometowns and win all the time. I'm planning to do that again," he added.

Van Sickle's most recent fight was a six-round split decision over Carlton Johnson (15-14)Dec. 30 at Mountaineer.

Van Sickle has been a pro fighter for 10 years and has 32 career bouts. Minto (29-2)has been a pro for less than five years and has 31.

"Brian loves to fight and he wants to reap the reward of the time he spends in the gym,"said Pat Nelson, Minto's manager. "He thrives on staying busy and we've been keeping him busy."

Minto is a full-time professional boxer. Van Sickle works as a bill collector for Universal Fidelity in Dublin, Ohio.

Finding training time hasn't been a problem for him, however — especially with Minto's WBAFedecentro title and the vacant West Virginia heavyweight title on the line April 27.

"Get up at 5 a.m. and get the road work in, then go to the gym at night when I get off work,"Van Sickle said. "You do what you have to do, especially when the stakes are so high."

Van Sickle has been knocked out only twice in his pro career by unbeatens Alexander Dimitrenko and Jean Francois Bergeron in 2006 and 2007.

Minto has never been knocked out.

Then again, Van Sickle doesn't believe he has to knock him out.

"Tony Tubbs didn't ... and he won,"Van Sickle quipped, referring to Tubbs' split decision that handed Minto his first pro loss. "I've watched that fight.

"You have to fight different guys different ways. Brian's extremely aggressive and there are certain punches he depends on. You have to look at that. But everybody has a weakness you can exploit, and I think I found his.

"A loss and I'm done. Simple as that," he added.

Tickets for the fight card, which begins at 2 p.m. April 27, are available at Institute Hill Pharmacy in Butler. Tickets are $100, $60, $40 and $20.