by James Slater – Last night, in Butler, Pennsylvania, local heavyweight and top-ten world ranked contender Brian “The Beast” Minto scored another decent win. Still waiting for the big fight to come around, Minto has remained busy, taking on tough, yet largely unknown fighters in front of his rabid fans. Last night he won a shutout 8 round unanimous decision over Missouri’s 32-year-old Matt Greer. 34-year-old Minto, who improved to 33-2(21) triumphed by identical scores of 80-72..
What these scores do not come close to telling you, though, is just how tough and brutal, not to mention bloody, the fight was. Greer, who fell to 12-5(11) really came to fight and fight he did – hard!
According to FightNews.com, the 8-rounder was one of the “most bloody and brutal” heavyweight fights in recent memory. And judging by their report on the thrilling battle, it really is too bad the bout was not picked up by a big TV network. In any case, chances are this one will be up on YouTube any day now.
Greer suffered damage to his mouth and to his nose, and bled profusely as a result. According to reports, both men were absolutely drenched with blood, mostly Greer’s, by the time the fight was over with. The two men traded shots throughout, and reportedly round number five was a real classic.
This on round number five from FightNews:
‘Minto pressured Greer with a steady, droning attack of body punches and uppercuts and Greer returned fire in explosive and unexpected bursts.’
Greer was felled at the end of the 5th, only for referee Ernie Sherif to rule the punch that sent him down a low blow. The two tired heavyweights battled on for a further three rounds, after which “The Beast” was awarded his UD victory.
“I can’t believe he went the distance,” a victorious Minto said post-fight. “He was a strong puncher but, wow, he can take a beating! Any other referee but Ernie [Sherif] would have stopped that.”
If last night’s fight was as good as reports are saying it was – and there is no reason at all to doubt the excellent FightNews.com – then it just goes to show that it is not only the big name fighters who put on the great fights. Minto, a real crowd-pleaser if ever there was one, is used to sending the fans home happy. Not only has he given us last night’s war, he has also given us the 2004 mini-classic he put on against Vinny Maddalone.
Greer may have lost last night, but in doing so he made a name for himself and he also won over Minto’s local fans. At the end of the bruising action both men were treated to roars of adulation from an appreciative crowd.
Again, it is to be hoped that last night’s hugely entertaining encounter finds its way onto YouTube!