On March 8, 2008 Kevin Engel went up against an opponent that on paper looked like an easy fight. Late in the 3rd round Engel got hit that damaged his eye, and caused him to lose the fight. Now 5 months later Engel was back for the rematch. This time Engel was a different fighter, coming in under weight and in the best shape of his life! He spent 4 weeks in Youngstown, OH with his new trainer Jack Loew who worked with him on is boxing. On August 22nd Engel came to the ring as a boxer, not a brawler. He threw numerous jabs that kept Word on the outside, landing plenty of power shots that took their toll on Word. The fight went all 8 rounds and although Engel had Word hurt many times, it went to the judges’ scorecards. Engel took the rematch by a unanimous decision.