A trip to the shore Minto slated for June 9 fight in Atlantic City on ESPN2
Brian Minto is in the process of extending his contract with boxing promoter Dino Duva and likely will fight on ESPN2's "Friday Night at the Fights" June 9 from Atlantic City, N.J.
He expects to face Byron Polley (19-6-1, nine knockouts) in an eight-round heavyweight bout.
"It's supposed to be the co-main event,"Minto said. "That card is the night before the Antonio Tarver-Bernard Hopkins fight in the same city."
Minto (24-1, 14 KOs) is coming off an eight-round unanimous decision over Billy Zumbrun April 28 in another ESPN2 bout in Connecticut.
The victory was the Butler native's sixth in a row since his controversial split-decision loss to Tony Tubbs on Dec. 30, 2004.
Since that Tubbs fight, Minto, 31, grew frustrated with Duva Promotions Inc. and considered leaving the organization once his contract expired.
That contract expires in October, but Minto said he now plans to sign a four-year extension with Duva.
"Dino flew me to New York recently and we had a long talk about things,"Minto said. "I like the way things have gone of late and they believe in me a lot more now.
"I'm getting fights and that should continue now. After (the June 9) fight, they may get me on HBO's 'Boxing After Dark' program."
Polley, 26, is from St. Joseph, Mo., and stands 5-feet-10 and weighs about 240 pounds. His last fight was a technical-knockout loss in the fourth round to Kevin McBride on April 1.
McBride (39-4-1) defeated Mike Tyson recently. Polley's loss was his first since June 2004. He had gone 5-0-1 since.
Polley is ranked 371st out of 1,112 pro heavyweights worldwide by boxrec.com. Minto is ranked 36th by the same organization.
"He's a big puncher who outweighs me by quite a bit, but I've gotten used to that,"Minto said.
Minto relied on his left jab so much in the Zumbrun fight that rumors persisted there was a problem with his right hand.
"My right hand is fine and it was fine that night,"Minto said. "I had it cocked and ready, but there was never an opening to use it.
"My left jab was connecting and he wasn't stopping it, so why not keep throwing it?He was an awkward opponent and he caught me pretty good at the end of the third round.
"If the seventh round was 10 seconds longer, I had him knocked out. I probably should have taken the fight to him earlier. ... Chalk it up as a learning experience,"Minto added.
Patience is something Minto learned to use a long time ago.
"People who don't understand the sport keep asking me when I'm going to get a big-name opponent,"he said. "It will happen. It just takes time.
"They (Duvas) just got (once-beaten heavyweight) Samuel Peter through the door. I'm going to follow right behind him. It's gonna happen for both of us."
In the meantime, Minto hopes to get a fight every couple of months, provided he stays healthy.
"I seem to be at my best when I'm more active," he said. "The gain has to be worth the risk, that's all."
