Minto ready for a knockout in the ballpark!

Story by Brady Crytzer
Photo by Gary Sarti

In a landscape where a fighter's value is measured by his capacity to not only win, but put on a good show, the future of heavyweight prospect Brian "The Beast" Minto is bright.

Of his latest three outings, not a single bout has lasted longer than the allotted three minutes of the opening round.

While he has been quietly destroying opponents in front of appreciative local audiences since his loss to two-time world title challenger Luan Krasniqi thirteen months ago, Minto (30-2, 19 KOs)  -  now ranked at #12 by the WBO  -  prepares to re-enter the heavyweight title picture as he takes on the heavy-handed John Poore (20-2, 18 KOs) for the WBA Fedecentro heavyweight title in the main event of this week’s ESPN Wednesday Night Fights.

"I have confidence in my punching power," Minto said. "When your out there it's kill or be killed. He (Poore) is a tough guy and he can punch, so I need to be careful. I may need to go out and take my time in there."

"I've seen him (Poore) break his jaw, and go out the next round and knock the guy out. He's a tough fight.”

Minto, like many other promising prospects that are fighting for recognition, is supported by a strong local contingent of die hard fans.

Much like the dedicated fans of Youngstown, Ohio who rabidly support Kelly Pavlik, Minto's hometown of Butler, Pennsylvania rallies behind him by the thousands.

Though he has only fought in Butler on three occasions (once in the high school gymnasium and twice at a local Days Inn) Minto relishes the chance to bring a nationally televised promotion to the city that he's called his lifelong home.

Scheduled to be held at the newly renovated Pullman Park, one of the few remaining "classic" ballparks of the early 20th century, ticket-buyers will be treated to an atmosphere of an era gone by in boxing history.

From the 1920’s to the 1960’s, boxing events were regularly hosted at ballparks such as Yankee Stadium, Fenway Park, Wrigley Field and Comiskey Park.  The most popular ballpark for fisticuffs was Yankee Stadium where over 50-plus fights  -  including 30 championship fights  -  were hosted.  The great Joe Louis fought twelve times at “The House that Babe Ruth built,” including both of his epic fights against Max Schmeling.

Although Minto vs. Poore is not Louis vs. Schmeling, the Butler native son realizes that Wednesday is a showcase for himself as well as his hometown.

"This is one of the biggest sporting events ever in this town," Minto said. "This is going to be on national television. It gives us the chance to show off the new park and put on a good show. It's like a dream come true for me. Butler never really had a place big enough to bring any kind of television. Now we've sold the place out. There will be 3,000 people there." 

Minto joked, "Let's just hope it doesn't rain."

In case of a weather emergency, Minto explained that there will be a canopy covering the ring. He doesn't feel however that any of his supporters would run home on account of a little rain.

Minto, who has won twelve of his last thirteen bouts, is seasoned in all aspects of the sport. Originally an unheralded, undercard fighter, "The Beast" has risen to prominence by racking up crowd-pleasing wins on numerous television outlets including HBO Pay Per View and ESPN Friday Night Fights. Formerly promoted by Duva Boxing, Minto has now taken the business end of the sport into his own hands acting as both financier and headliner for Wednesday’s promotion.

"I'm using my own money for the show," Minto said. "At first I was a little shaky with the idea, and then I figured it all out. I knew that if tickets sold, we could do a lot more. We've sold out."

"I'm not distracted by it, it’s been pretty easy. I am training hard and everything is going great."

While behemoths like IBF/WBO titleholder Wladimir Klitschko and Tony Thompson battle it out for the title of undisputed champion next week, recent successes by top-ranked contender Chris Arreola and WBC champion Samuel Peter prove to the boxing world that there is room in the heavyweight division for a five-foot-eleven slugger like Minto.

"I'm not doing this to not become the best boxer I can be," Minto said. "Hopefully a win here puts me in the top ten and makes me eligible for a title shot. After that, the sky's the limit. I'm staying disciplined and I'm becoming a better boxer. I only had eighteen amateur fights. Look at Krasniqi, he was a (Olympic) bronze medalist and I went twelve rounds with him."

Though a world title bout has eluded the Butler native, recognition has not escaped the 33 year-old slugger. Named the "Most Fun to Watch" heavyweight by Ring Magazine, Minto has also collected accolades in the form of nominations by ESPN for his tenth round knockout (Sept 2007) of Vinny Maddalone as a “Knockout of the Decade!"

"It shows who I am," Minto said. "It's been pretty exciting. I'm not the kind of guy that’s going to get hit and lay down. I won’t look for a way out. I've told people that against Krasniqi I went down in the last round. I could’ve stayed down, but I didn’t. It just shows people what kind of fighter I am."