It’s been a year since Luis Arias last gloved up and the fighter reports that the time off has served him well.

Arias defended well but his offense was lacking against Danny Jacobs in November 2017. The middleweight fringe contender impressed mightily with his personality and interactions with press during fight week, but fight night his A game was awry.

On Nov. 17, he’s looking to revert to form and get the better of veteran Gabe Rosado in a card to unfold in Kansas, and screen on DAZN platform.

So, 18-1 Arias, what is your take on Rosado, the Philly native who has a less than glittering record but still commands respect for his fighting spirit?

“Human punching bag,” Arias described the 24-11 rival. “If you outta shape he will beat you. Not an issue in our camp.”

Whoah, high quality trash talk! We can only hope the bout mirrors the yapping….

So, are we thinking this is gonna be easy work?

“Not gonna say easy because he can take a beating. I don’t see it as a hard fight though. Very good, winnable fight. Perfect opponent who is gonna stand right in front of you.”

And the time off, what were you up to?

“Just been getting in tune with myself. Figuring out my best move. Took time to get out of my contract. (He was promoted by Roc Nation.) Let my body heal. Trained and got better. Realized who out there is really there for me. It’s been fun.”

So, is the 28 year old aligned with a promoter?

“They will come right after I smoke Rosado!”

This one on paper looks pretty 50-50. Rosado lost to Willie Monroe and then Martin Murray before bouncing back with a victory over Glen Tapia. This will be a battle of who is better able to shed rust, being that Rosado, age 32, last fought in October 2017.

Readers, who wins the Rosado-Arias scrap?