Brian Minto Gets 1st Round Stoppage Over Chad Van Sickle

by James Slater: Brian “The Beast” Minto did as many expected he would do yesterday, and got rid of his opponent, Chad Van Sickle, quickly. During the short fight which took place at The Mountaineer Casino Race Track and Resort, in Chester, West Virginia, a huge left hook to the head decked Van sickle right at the end of the very first round. During the minute’s rest between rounds one and two the doctor decided not to let Van Sickle continue.. The official time of Minto’s win was 3 minutes of round number one. With the win the 33 year old improved his record to 30-2(19). The 30 year old Van Sickle fell to 22-8-3(12).

At this level of competition, Brian Minto could well roll on for a number of years without a loss. “The Beast” has genuine punching power, above average speed and a rugged, aggressive fighting style. When Minto moves up a notch, however, as he did when he fought Luan Krasniqi in March of last year, defeat is a very strong possibility. The Krasniqi loss, which came on points, exposed Minto according to some critics. The 33 year old has bounced back from the loss in Germany, winning three in a row – all of them by 1st round stoppage. Still, these wins have come against decidedly average opposition, it must be said. In fact, some more cynical observers of Minto’s career will likely tell you ALL of Brian’s wins have come against a pretty mediocre bunch.

Minto can fight, as his good wins over the tough, but limited Vinny Maddalone prove. However, the two wins over Maddalone probably still represent Minto’s best performances. He did beat a returning Axel Schulz back in late 2006, but that triumph aside, Minto has no wins over recognisable heavyweight names. Clearly, there should be no more Van Sickles for Minto in the months ahead – if he wants to achieve his dream of becoming a heavyweight champion.

Wins like the one he scored yesterday afternoon are doing Minto no good at all. We know he can bang, now we want to see if he’s improved since his loss to Krasniqi. If he has worked on his game and made improvements while working in the gym, Minto may go on to do something at or near the top of his weight class. Why not? After all, Brian Minto is arguably as good as a number of his fellow heavyweight wannabes currently plying their trade.