Brian Minto is playing the waiting game — whether his fans like it or not.

The 33-year-old Butler heavyweight, who stands 5-foot-11 and weighs about 215 pounds, is taking on 6-3, 235-pound Marcus McGee in a 10-round boxing main event Nov. 1 at Slippery Rock University's Morrow Field House.

Minto (31-2, 20 KO's) has knocked out four consecutive opponents in the first round and might have become too good for his own good in the process.

"Everybody keeps calling for Brian to fight somebody 'big,' to step up in class," trainer Tommy Yankello said. "It's not that easy."

Minto is ranked 15th by the WBA and No. 11 by the WBO, qualifying him for title fight eligibility for either world championship.

Ruslan Chaguev is the current WBAchampion while Wladimir Klitschko holds the WBOand IBFtitles.

"In the boxing world, we would be a big underdog facing those guys,"Yankello admitted. "But Brian has become such a good defensive fighter with a lot of quickness, hand-speed and one-punch knockout power.

"He's considered a risk by the title holders and top contenders, a risk that's not worth the reward to those guys right now. If they don't have to fight him, they're not going to."

So Minto is staying busy in the ring and climbing the rankings while doing so.

"If he keeps winning and gets himself into or near the top five, the public will demand a major fight for him and he'll get one,"Yankello said.

Minto's fight against McGee (21-16) in three weeks will put him in the ring against an opponent who has been knocked out only three times in his career.

McGee is a veteran fighter and former Division I college basketball player who has gone the distance against numerous world-class opponents.

"I'm punching harder than I've ever punched,"Minto said. "I don't care about (McGee's)resume. ... As soon as I hit the guy, he's going to sleep. That's how hard I'm hitting right now.

"If I take this guy out within the first two rounds, that would speak volumes for where I'm at in terms of being a world-class fighter."

Minto credits much of his increased strength and knockout ability to Brian Hildebrand, a strength and conditioning coach he's been working with for the past 18 months.

Hildebrand said Minto has increased his punching power in the ring "by at least 50 percent since I began working with him."

Under Hildebrand's guidance, Minto has been working out with medicine balls, power exercise equipment and industrial tires.

"I have him flipping over 400-pound tires,"Hildebrand said.

Minto gets together with Hildebrand in Butler twice a week and travels to Ambridge three days a week to work with Yankello.

In between, he's getting his road work and sparring time in.

"Brian is such a dedicated athlete,"Yankello said. "He's a tireless worker. Good technique brings good power, and when you factor in his increased strength ... he's become a very lethal fighter."

Hildebrand agreed.

"His boxing skills have improved as his physical strength has,"Hildebrand said. "When you put it all together, you get the types of performances Brian has been giving.

"You can only beat who you play. He's been expected to take out the opponents he's been in the ring with early, and he has been. He deserves a shot at something big. All he needs is a chance."

Minto knows the Butler County sporting public is growing as frustrated as he's been about not landing a big-time bout.

"There's some people out there who want to see me get beat up," he said, chuckling. "But, honestly, all I can do is thank the people who have been supporting me.

"In society, there are bandwagon jumpers who are quick to criticize. As soon as you lose, the negative talk comes out. I've experienced that in my two losses."

"In any competitive sport, you're going to have setbacks. It's how you bounce back that counts,"Minto added.

As long as he fights locally, Minto will be unable to attract a world-class opponent, unless television money is involved.

"TVhikes up the purse,"Yankello said. "ESPN doesn't do boxing from September to December because they do college football. Otherwise, they would have picked up this Minto-McGee fight."

In the meantime, Minto keeps biding his time.

"He's only 33 and the guys at the top of the rankings are pushing 40,"Yankello said. "He's got time."

Tickets for the six-fight card Nov. 1 are available at Sir Speedy and the Monroe Hotel in Butler and through the Slippery Rock University athletic department.