Pay close attention
This is the third in a series of four articles about the Butler boxers who are on the July 2 fight card at Pullman Park.One thing appears certain about the John Poore-Brian Minto fight scheduled for July 2 at Pullman Park: It's not going the distance."No way," said Russell Peltz, Poore's promoter. "It doesn't figure to. One of these guys is going down."The heavyweight bout is the main event on the card and is scheduled for 10 rounds. Minto's World Boxing AssociationFedecentro title and the vacant Pennsylvania heavyweight belt will be on the line.Minto, 33, (30-2, 19 knockouts) has taken out his last three opponents — Chad Van Sickle, Byron Polley and Ray Lunsford — in the first round since losing a 12-round unanimous decision to Luan Krasniqi in Germany on March 17, 2007.Poore, 37, (20-2, 18 KOs)has never gone the distance in a pro fight. His two losses were by a first-round knockoutto Cerrone Fox (7-4) June 16, 2006, and by a fifth-round TKOto Robert Hawkins (18-3) in March 2005."Fox came out and just caught him,"Peltz said. "Everything he threw, it seemed he couldn't miss him. The loss to Hawkins was my fault. I put John in a fight he wasn't ready for at the time."This is the heavyweight division. If you hit one of them clean, they go down. ... If Minto gets hit, believe me, he'll go down. There aren't any Rocky Marcianos out there anymore."Poore comes from Ada, a small town near Philadelphia, and his last 10 fights have been held in Philadelphia. This will be Poore's first fight away from home since he knocked out Charles Brown in the second round of a fight March 21, 2003, in Delaware.Poore has only six wins against opponents with winning records. He has never defeated a fighter with more than 13 wins."He hasn't been in the ring with anyone of Brian's caliber, nor has he fought the level of fighters Minto has,"admitted Poore's trainer, Sloan Harrison. "That doesn't mean he can't win."While Minto began his pro career at age 28, Poore didn't get started until he was 31."I'm not worried about his background,"Harrison said. "There are a lot of naturals out there walking the streets who can fight. I've been working with John for nearly two years now and he's a good fighter."He's apparently a tough fighter, too. Poore suffered a fractured eye socket in a 2004 bout against Willie Perryman, stayed in the fight and knocked Perryman out in the fourth round.Minto just wants to stay focused on boxing, not slugging, when he gets into the ring July 2."He's a big puncher and I can't fall into a slugging match with him,"Minto said. "That's his chance to win."I know the crowd's going to be into it and the atmosphere will be wild, but I have to stay level-headed. I'm focused on what I have to do. ... I don't normally hear the crowd anyway."Minto will enter the fight ranked No. 12 by the World Boxing Organization. He remains unranked by the WBA, however.'"Yeah, that bothers me a little,"he said. "I won their (Fedecentro) belt and defended it once. They said they'd rank me if I did that. There's politics involved, I guess."But Minto's more concerned about taking care of business in the ring than about what's transpiring in the sport outside of it."Poore's a tough guy with a lot of power," he said. "This is his shot. He can change his career if he beats me."The fight card begins at 8 p.m. and ESPN2 will telecast the event live from 9 to 11 p.m. A few tickets are available and are being sold from 1 to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday at the Butler Redevelopment Authority office.
