Luis Arias finally gets to fight on the big stage

Unbeaten middleweight boxer Luis “Cuba” Arias of Milwaukee has compiled a 17-0 record (eight knockouts) with relative ease. Finally, he’ll get a quality opponent and a big fight that could make or break his young career.

Arias and Arif “The Predator” Magomedov (18-1, 11 knockouts) will lead off the HBO pay-per-view lineup for “Andre Ward vs. Sergey Kovalev 2: The Rematch” on June 17 at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas.

“Finally, my opportunity has come,” Arias said in a story on boxingscene.com. “The road to the big stage has been long, but it’s here and I’m ready. It’s time to prove to the world that I am a threat to anyone in this division.”

Arias, 26, the U.S. Boxing Association champion, trained as an amateur at the United Community Center. He is promoted by Roc Nation Sports while Magomedov is promoted by Main Events.

“This is a huge opportunity for Arif and Luis to test themselves on such a big stage,” said Main Events CEO Kathy Duva. “A win or a big showing by either fighter could catapult them in the rankings and put them on the map in this stacked middleweight division.”