Brian Minto found himself in the way of an up-and-coming contender — and a few of his punches Saturday night.

The Butler heavyweight boxer was knocked down in the fifth and seventh rounds of his bout against 22-year-old Joseph Parker in Manukau, New Zealand. Minto, 39, retired from the fight after the seventh round.

He became the first pro fighter to go a full seven rounds against Parker (9-0, 8 KOs), who dominated the bout.

Parker gained the WBO Oriental heavyweight title with the win, along with the interim PABA crown.

“Joseph is a young fast kid and I give him much respect,” Minto was quoted by stuff.com in New Zealand. “He’s a helluva prospect. He’s only going to get better. He’s got fast hands and he punches hard.

“He’s long and he’s learning.”

Minto (39-8, 25 KOs) gave away 13 pounds to the much taller Parker and had trouble getting inside and landing punches against the active New Zealand fighter.

Unable to win a round, Minto was able to hold his own in the fourth round before getting knocked down by a thunderous right to the head late in the fifth round.

Parker shoved Minto to the canvas early in the seventh round and was admonished for that act by the referee. He sent Minto to the floor with another solid right with 28 seconds left in the seventh round.

Minto later admitted he entered the fight with a broken nose. Blood was streaming from his nose after the bout.

Parker used a powerful jab to neutralize Minto’s offense for the bulk of the fight.

“I said I was lean and mean, and you saw that,” Parker told the New Zealand Herald. “I executed the plan we put in place.”

Minto’s handlers stopped the fight after seven rounds, with no protest from the Butler fighter.

“He’s a big, strong heavyweight. He has the skill and the power. I was very impressed,” Minto told the New Zealand Herald.

“I didn’t want to get hurt. I’ve got two beautiful kids and a wife to go home to.”

Plans are in place for Parker to fight in the United States in a month or so. Parker emerged from Saturday’s fight unscathed.

Duco promoter David Higgins said the company hopes to land Parker a world title shot within 18 months.

Minto hopes Parker’s handlers are a little more patient.

“I just hope Duco doesn’t try to move him too fast and put him in something that maybe he’s not ready for straight away,” he told stuff.com. “Trying to get a world title shot within a year ... That’s kind of a little far fetched for him.

“He needs to step up and fight more experienced competition.”

Kevin Barry, Parker’s trainer, lauded his fighter’s progress on the website.

“Let’s remember about four or five weeks ago a lot of people were of the opinion that this was the wrong fight, that Minto was going to blow Joe away,” Barry said. “We know he (Minto) was in great condition and he never won a round. I think Joseph silenced a lot of critics.”

Minto’s plans for the future are not immediately known. He could not be reached for comment over the weekend.