VERONA, N.Y. — Brian Minto’s left jab was working.

Tony Grano’s right counter worked better.

Grano, 31, floored Minto with a right counter-punch early in the third round, then put the Butler heavyweight on the canvas with another right counter seconds later in their NABF boxing title eliminator Saturday night at the Turning Stone Resort Casino.

Referee Charlie Fitch stopped the fight after the second knockdown, 1:04 into Round 3.

“I never saw it. He caught me flush on the chin,” Minto, 37, said. “That’s never happened to me before.”

Minto (35-5) got to his feet at the count of seven and went right after Grano, landing a solid right to his head. But as Minto tried to follow that shot with a left, he took another hard right to the head from Grano and fell hard to the canvas.

Fitch didn’t hesitate in stopping the bout.

“That first knockdown discombobulated me and my legs were a little shaky,” Minto admitted. “I got my bearings back, but the body doesn’t always respond to what the mind tells it to do after something like that.

“He (Grano) didn’t go all the way to a neutral corner. He was standing right behind the referee. We probably got back at it a little too soon for me.”

Grano (19-2-2) wasn’t surprised Minto came right back at him.

“That guy has the heart of a lion,” Grano said after the fight. “He’s a tough guy to put away. But the way he went down the first time, I knew I had him hurt.”

Minto controlled the first two rounds of the fight, consistently backing Grano up while throwing most of the punches. He cornered Grano and landed a straight right to his face that wobbled him in the first round.

Grano went down in a corner after Minto landed another right midway through the second round, but Fitch ruled it a slip. Grano quickly jumped back to his feet and showed no ill effects from the punch.

“He caught me with one as I was in the process of throwing a punch,” Grano said. “I just lost my balance.”

“They may have called it a slip, but I know I hit him there,” Minto said.

Minto was taken to a nearby hospital for observation after the fight. He suffered a concussion, but was released from the hospital Saturday night and returned home Sunday.

He spent the ride home replaying the knockdown in his mind.

“Over and over ... it’s all I’m thinking about,” he said. “I was in control of that fight. He hadn’t been counter-punching much at all and I was going to let the fight take its course. I liked where it was going.

“He caught me and I wasn’t expecting it. Just like that, it was over. It’s frustrating, but that’s heavyweight boxing. You hit and you get hit.

“People don’t understand. ... You spend seven weeks of hard training, totally prepared. ... I didn’t take the guy lightly at all. This is hard for me to swallow,” Minto added.

Admittedly contemplating retirement, Minto is considering one more fight. A show is being planned for Kittanning’s Belmont Arena in April.

“Going out like this ... it’s not me,” Minto said. “I still feel pretty good. I’m not going to make any rash decisions right now. I’m going to rest for a while and my wife and I are going away for a vacation next month.

“I’m going to sit down, talk to her, take stock in where I’m at. I know she’ll be supportive of me either way.”