By Liam Napier

The death of his father and lingering regret from an underwhelming loss to Joseph Parker will fuel Brian Minto's return to New Zealand next month.

The American veteran (39-8) is set to be revealed as the international wildcard to contest the Super8 cruiserweight tournament in Christchurch. After six months of tribulations, Minto wants to prove he is a better fighter than the one Parker beat with ease last July.

When he stepped through the ropes nursing a broken nose, sustained a week before the Parker fight in sparring, Minto knew he had no hope of troubling the fast-rising Kiwi heavyweight.

That's not the sort of mindframe any fighter should have. Parker's fast hands and towering frame may well have proved too much for Minto regardless but, on reflection, he knows the fight should not have gone ahead.

"I still regret taking that fight. I got injured and I didn't tell anybody. I was beaten before I walked into the ring. Duco didn't want to reschedule it and I put the money first," Minto, who pulled off a shock victory over Shane Cameron in late 2013, said.

"Through life we all make mistakes. I've matured a lot in the last six months as a man. I made some dumb decisions but you learn from them."

At the time Minto was also coping with the imminent death of his father, who suffered from dementia, and a rocky marriage. His wife was feeling the pressure of caring for their autistic son. 

"My mental status for that fight was terrible. I didn't do any justice to myself. If I had my time over again, I'd come home. It was probably the dumbest move in my career. I basically gave Joseph my belt and ranking.

"My father died and my marriage was on the rocks. I had to basically grow up. I've turned that around. If things aren't well at home you're professional life won't be in order."

Unlike the sudden death of his mother to a heart attack, the 40-year-old is thankful he had the chance to say goodbye to his father.

"It was tough. He was deteriorating then his kidneys started to shut down. I went to see him in the morning and I got a lot of closure out of being there when he passed. He was struggling to breathe. I opened his eyes up and said 'it's okay to let go dad'. As soon as I said that he stopped breathing."

With extensive experience and notable hunger, Minto will be favoured to take out the Super8 event.

While the majority of his career has been at heavyweight he lost a cruiserweight world title shot against Marco Hunt in 2010 and he has already dropped seven kilograms to sit near the required weight.

Two years ago he also made the semi finals of a similar prize fighting tournament in London.

"I've been in with the best cruiserweight in the world so that should help me out. This is it for me. I know what I've got to do. This is my chance to redeem myself."