Craig Bernier had two options.

He could have dropped nine pounds from an already lean and muscular body and practically assure himself of a trip to nationals, maybe even a national championship.

But the former All-American boxer will take the challenge of a lifetime when he goes after defending 165-pound national champ Manny Rose of Lock Haven this Saturday night in White Building.

"I want to go out and fight my ass off for three rounds and I want to know if I could beat him or I couldn't," Bernier said.

"I didn't want to go at (156), and yeah, maybe I would have even won a national championship, but I would never know if I could beat Manny Rose."

This season will most likely be his last chance for what seems an elusive national championship. He was a national runner-up his first year, but last year he missed regionals due to illness. At 23, he wants to move to Golden Glove tournaments, consequently forfeiting his last year of eligibility.

His decision to fight Rose was not unanimously supported.

"He's worked too hard all year long to let it come down to where the odds aren't too good for himself," Coach Craig Harpster said. He added that the points Bernier could easily gain at 156 would have bolstered the team's national ranking.

Bernier has already lost two bouts to Rose -- one a devastating first round knockout. For Rose, the knockout was a customary conclusion to his fights; he has ended 16 of his 19 three-round bouts with knockouts. Fearing he might seriously injury someone, the coaches are pulling Rose from college boxing after this year.

"In the fight he just kind of stalks you," Bernier said. "It's just a kind of confidence that you see that is intimidating, that intimidates all the people he's fought. In the past I've been intimidated."

When a boxer is scared, there is a good possibility that he'll be knocked out.

Fear made Bernier a different fighter. In his first bout he covered up and, although he did not get knocked out, he had no chance to win. The second time, he was pursued by Rose and, rather than slip punches, he retreated and was floored. But Harpster and Kelly Cordes, his training partner, think Bernier has the skills to beat Rose.

Rose is quick and powerful, but he's a brawler and has a suspect chin. To beat him, you need to be relaxed and confident enough to pick him apart, Cordes said.

"When (Bernier) puts it all together, technically he's a perfect boxer," Cordes said."If he gets over this mental stumbling point of his then he will destroy Manny Rose."

To fight his best, Bernier must be relaxed, something he has not been able to do fighting at Penn State. Bernier is from State College and the pressure of having his friends and a large, close family -- he is one of eight children -- watching created anxiety and inhibited his skills.

"Especially at home, it just feels like a giant weight has just come down on you because everyone's watching you," Bernier said. "My worst fear in the world I have decided -- I stayed up late, couldn't sleep -- because I feared about getting knocked out in front of the home crowd."

Immediately after losing to Rose and suffering the first knockdown of his career, Bernier said he did want to fight Rose again.

Things changed. He decided that he was fighting for himself because he loves the sport, not for his family or friends. Advice from his brother Kurt, a former starting linebacker at Penn State, finally got through.

"(Kurt) said, 'The hell with them, you're in the ring because you love the sport. It's you that you've got to be fighting for. Not those people in the stands. You have to not give a crap about what they think,' " Bernier said.

Bernier gathered all of his trophies that were scattered around his house and put them in his room. He wanted to see the symbols of his accomplishments, not have them displayed as showpieces.

Bernier seems to have come to terms with his past failures. Slow starts are common in his career and Rose is too powerful to have this to happen.

"Its going to be a different me out there in the ring. You might see me out there taunting him," Bernier said, his hands in front of his weaving face as if he is blocking Rose's punches.

"If I go out and start to fight confidently and think 'I'm the man, I'm the man' I'm going to take your throne."

The longer the fight, the more Rose will have to box, not brawl. Bernier can't just wait for this to happen. He must do more than withstand Rose's barrages, he must earn respect.

"When I get hit, (I will) hit harder than he hits me," Bernier said. "Unless I go down, the more I'm going to be like 'You ain't so bad, you ain't so bad, come on, bring it on."