By Troy Ondrizek

Much is being made of Cristobal Arreola’s ring return on December 5th following the life lesson he was forcibly given in September; compliments of Vitali Klitschko and his fist.  Truly it’s remarkable that the young man from Southern California has rebounded this quickly and I applaud him for hitting the ground running.  Because despite his age (34), relatively small stature for a heavyweight (5’11”. 215lbs), and lack of pedigree or overwhelming success; Brian Minto is far from a walkover opponent.

Minto is a working man who has found boxing as a means to provide for his family and create a better life for them, no matter how difficult it has been to do so.  The man from Butler Pennsylvania sports a glossy record of 34-2 with 21 wins inside the distance.  The notable victories are somewhat lacking on his resume but they’re there, and he’s fallen short in two fights that he knows he could’ve won.  If Minto was a baseball prospect, scouts would agree that he has hit his ceiling, while Arreola is just scratching the surface.

When I first met Brian he was gearing up for his HBO debut and much anticipated rematch with Vinny Maddalone.  In their first encounter…..WAR; Maddalone couldn’t miss Minto.  Brian’s head bobbed and weaved every time Vinny connected with a punch, which was often.  Minto had his moments, but Maddalone was slugging his way to a thrilling victory.

At first I thought the miracle of the fight was that Minto was able to make it to the 10th round, then a left hook that seemed to be thrown by the Titans leveled Maddalone 30 seconds into the final stanza. 

The dramatic ending to an all out battle instantly made Brian a marketable fighter.  He confessed later that he doesn’t even know how he made it through the fight and how he had anything left to throw the definitive shot.  

All the momentum he had built from the first Maddalone fight instantly dissipated five months later is a boring loss to an archaic Tony Tubbs.  Brian lamented later that the fight wasn’t right for him and that Tubbs just smothered him, literally.  Either way, 2004 looked like it was going to be a launching pad for the 29 year old Minto, only to crash and burn with the Tubbs loss.

After some “keep busy” fights Brian found himself in a great position to fight his famous fistic foe Vinny Maddalone on the televised undercard of the rubber match between Antonio Tarver and Roy Jones Jr.  Brian was a beast in there with Vinny and put the club fighter from Queens away with 14 straight left hooks in the 7th round.  Just like their first battle, this one wasn’t even close, but unlike Maddalone, Minto was able to close the show.

The impressive performance and obvious growth in skill and boxing IQ got Minto nowhere.  He expected offers to come in.  A fight with Chauncey Welliver fell through, and a talked about scrap with Antonio Tarver never materialized.  Tarver sought Mike Tyson instead and Minto was left to call out many fighters only to have none answer him.

Minto worked as a full-time tree trimmer to provide for his young family until he got a call from Klaus-Peter Kohl to fight the come-backing Axel Schulz.  A solid record, a decent name, and an entertaining style led to Minto getting the opportunity.  He was brought in for Schulz to shine against; instead the small town Pennsylvanian put the German icon’s career to rest for good.  In the process, Minto garnered some German fans with his performance one notably being Kohl himself. 

A very nice payday that ended up being more than what Minto had made his entire career combined, turned out to be his best chance to succeed financially and professionally.  It took two years, but his career had finally recovered from the Tony Tubbs debacle.

Then Kohl and Universum decided that they’re heavyweight cash-cow Luan Krasniqi had one more gutsy performance left in him, and Brian Minto would be the man to bring it out.  Luan shined that night like Pete Sampras at the 2002 U.S. Open.  Brian, although a much richer man, was left a beaten one who showed his heart and not much else.

That was two and half years ago; the money he made in Germany helped Brian dabble in the promotional arts.  This is good, because his career has slipped into irrelevancy since that March night in 2007. 

Next Saturday all of that will be moot if “The Beast from Butler” can pull another upset.  For what Brian Minto lacks in physical attributes he makes up for in heart, heart, and heart.  He can’t be in a bad fight unless his dance partner runs.  Cristobal Arreola won’t run. 

Cristobal has the size, power, and youth advantage.  Not to mention a solid chin and a fighting spirit that rivals Minto’s.  The odds are stacked against the 34 year old, but I’m sure he’s fine with that.  He knows what he’s up against, and if Arreola doesn’t, he will find himself in a world of trouble.  There has never been a man who has entered the ring with Brian Minto and exited muttering the words “that was easy." 

While this is probably the end of the line for the former linebacker in football country, his boxing career has given us some great fights and a nice story.  The ending is still to be written, and don’t forget, Minto/Arreola is being contested in the very same town just blocks away from where Minto’s left hook landed him into the hearts of boxing fans.