By Keith Idec

Adam Kownacki knows why Chris Arreola will be a true threat Saturday night.

Arreola is 38, has lost five times and has been stopped three times. Kownacki recognizes, however, that Arreola is approaching their 12-round heavyweight fight as his absolute last chance to pull off an upset and earn one, last big payday.

“I think a desperate man is a dangerous man,” Kownacki said Tuesday during a conference call. “And I think he’s very desperate to get another title shot. He has two knockout wins in a row, so I’m prepared for the biggest, best Chris Arreola, you know? I know he’s gonna come forward. He looks in great shape. I’ve just gotta make sure I have a better game plan and that I’m in better shape, which I know I’ve put in a lot of hard work.”

Arreola (38-5-1, 33 KOs, 2 NC), of Riverside, California, has won back-to-back bouts by technical knockout since resuming his career nearly eight months ago. Kownacki is eight years younger, undefeated (19-0, 15 KOs) and has beaten veterans Artur Szpilka, Iago Kiladze, Charles Martin and Gerald Washington in his past four fights.

Most Internet sports books list Kownacki as at least a 16-1 favorite in a fight FOX will televise as the main event of a tripleheader from Barclays Center in Brooklyn (8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT).

“I don’t even pay attention to the odds, to be honest with you,” Arreola said. “But my main motivation is win or go home. That’s my motivation. My motivation is to keep fighting, putting food on my family’s table, keep making a living off of boxing. That’s my motivation. No disrespect to the odds-makers or anything like that, but like Jeff Mayweather said, they don’t know sh*t about boxing.”

A realistic Arreola also understands that he must upset Kownacki if he is to have any chance at landing what would be his fourth heavyweight title shot.

“This is my last chance, man,” Arreola said. “This is my last chance – not because of the media or any or that. This is my last chance because I said so. You know, if I lose, I go home. No matter if it’s a great fight or a great event or it could’ve gone either way. Plain and simple, I lose, and I stay home. One and done. No more. So, this is my motivation. This is all I want. This is what I’m craving for.”

Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.