BUTLER TWP— Sporting a black eye, some soreness and a little fatigue, Brian Minto returned from Germany unfazed by his unanimous decision loss to Luan Krasniqi over the weekend.

In fact, he's not convinced he lost at all.

"I won eight of those rounds," the 32-year-old Butler heavyweight said. "I was the aggressor. I took the fight to him.

"The judges were from France, Germany, one was Swiss, the referee was German, I think. ... It was kind of a joke, really. I knew I had to knock him out to win, and I didn't.

"This fight didn't hurt my stock at all. Anyone who saw the fight or will see it on tape is gonna see I should have won. They were even talking that way at the post-fight party,"Minto added.

Minto admitted to being hurt by a solid left uppercut in the third round and by a straight right-hand in the 12th. It was the latter punch that resulted in the knockdown for Krasniqi.

"My legs were a little rubbery by then, he pushed me a little after that punch and I went down,"Minto said. "They scored it a knockdown. I was OKwith that."

Krasniqi (30-2-1, 14 KOs) was awarded the decision by counts of 116-111, 116-111, 115-112 on the judges' scorecards.

Tom Yankello, Minto's trainer, said he was flabbergasted when he watched a tape of the fight.

"I thought Brian was winning when I was there in his corner live,"Yankello said. "When I watched the fight on tape, he won by a wider margin than I thought.

"One judge gave Brian four rounds, another gave him five. ... Giving Krasniqi every benefit of the doubt, there's no way he won more than five rounds, even with the two-point 12th for the knockdown."

Yankello said every time Minto bobbed and weaved inside on Krasniqi, the German fighter pushed Minto's head down further.

When Minto (27-2, 16 KOs) tried to hit him with a left, Krasniqi hooked the arm and held it, the trainer added.

"Then (the referee) would caution Brian for holding,"Yankello said. "There was a lot of fabricating going on in that ring. I was afraid there might be fabricating going on with the judges, too. That's why I told Brian before the start of the 12th round that he needed to knock him out.

"He didn't do it. He left the fight in the judges' hands, and this is what happens."

Minto described the 35-year-old Krasniqi as a crafty veteran "who knew what he could get away with in there.

"He's 6-foot-4 and lean. He was the quickest heavyweight I've ever fought,"he said.

Krasniqi is a former Olympic bronze medalist who began training for boxing as a young child. He has been a professional boxer for 11 years.

Minto has been a pro boxer for four years and had only 15 amateur fights before turning pro.

"That's what amazes me about Brian Minto,"Yankello said. "Calvin Brock had 187 amateur fights, Krasniqi has been boxing all his life. Those guys are world-class fighters, and Brian's right there with them, despite having no Olympic experience or any of that stuff.

"Brian will be a world champion within one or two years. There's no doubt in my mind. Krasniqi is a championship-caliber boxer. Brian didn't fight all that well, and I still think he beat him."

Minto's entourage arrived in Germany 11 days before the fight. If he had it to do over, Minto said he wouldn't have made the trip overseas until a week later.

"All that waiting around, the anticipation, I lost my mental edge a little bit," he said. "Some of the intensity was lost. You live and learn in this business.

"I was an 8-to-1 underdog over there. People didn't think I'd last two rounds. I'm disappointed I didn't get the decision or knock him out, but I'm not discouraged at all,"Minto added.

Minto plans to take three weeks off before resuming light training. He plans to take a fight in the tri-state area sometime during the summer.

No longer promoted by Duva Inc., Minto works strictly with Yankello and manager Pat Nelson.

"If I win my next fight, I'm right back in the mix,"Minto said.