ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. — Excuse Chris Arreola if he's feeling a bit edgy.

The 28-year-old heavyweight from Riverside, Calif., Brian Minto's opponent in a critical 10-round matchup at 9:30 p.m. Saturday at Boardwalk Hall on HBO, is coming off the roughest fight and the only loss of his pro career.

Arreola (27-1, 24 KOs) took on Vitali Klitschko for the WBC heavyweight title Sept. 26 in Los Angeles and took a beating for 10 rounds before his trainer mercifully told the referee to stop the bout.

"That was no war. That was a (beating) for 10 rounds," Arreola said. "But I took that beating like a man and I wanted to go the last two rounds."

Arreola wasn't knocked down and said he came away from the bout with a fat lip and some bruising around his eyes.

"Did I come close to going down? Not once. Did I get hurt at all? Not once," Arreola said. "And that was against a big, powerful man."

Arreola is 6-feet-4 and weighs more than 250 pounds. Klitschko is 6-7 and weighs 280 pounds. Minto is 5-11 and expects to weigh about 220 pounds for Saturday's fight.

"He's a tough guy," Arreola said of Minto. "But I'm not going into the ring just to beat the guy. I'm going to beat him unmercifully.

"I know there's going to be a knockout. This fight's not going to get past six rounds. There's no way. I'll take him out before that."

Arreola was undefeated before losing to Klitschko. He wants another title shot down the road and figures he can't afford a loss to Minto.

Before losing that title bout, Arreola had piled up four dominant victories over impressive foes. He knocked out Jameel McCline (39-9-3) in the fourth round, stopped Travis Walker (28-1-1) and Israel Carlos Garcia (19-1-0) in the third round, and won the WBC Continental Americas heavyweight title by third-round disqualification over Chazz Witherspoon (23-0).

Minto called out Arreola on Internet postings months ago, trying to force a showdown in the ring between the two.

HBO boxing expert Larry Merchant has referred to Arreola as the most promising American heavyweight since Riddick Bowe. Minto wants to earn that tag for himself.

"I had bigger fish to fry at the time," Arreola said of the Internet postings. "I didn't have time to mess with Brian Minto then. But I'm going to mess with him now. I know I can't afford another loss right now.

"He's a one-dimensional fighter with no lateral movement. He's gonna come at me, willing to take one to give one. But my punches are going to do more damage than his will.

"I know I'll get his best, but he won't be able to stand up to me. I'll wear him down. I'm going to expose his weaknesses," Arreola added.

Klitschko landed 151 power punches to Arreola's 24 in their title fight, according to boxing statistics made available during the telecast of the bout. Arreola withstood that barrage.

However, he doesn't discount the possibility of Minto putting him on the floor.

"This is heavyweight boxing and all heavyweights have the power to do that, not just Minto," Arreola said. "All it takes is one punch. Boxing history has been made with one punch.

"I'm going to frustrate this guy. And if he does hit me, they're going to see how resilient and tough I am."

Minto (34-2, 21 KOs) figures he'll get a world title shot if he wins Saturday. Arreola doesn't expect to get one right away if he defeats Minto.

"I was at the top of the ladder and got bumped off," he said. "Now it's up to me to work my way back up again. It all starts with a decisive, one-sided victory in this fight.

"I'm not going to hoot and holler and say I deserve a title shot when I win this fight. I have to earn it. This is only the first step."