Rumble at Pullman is No. 1
The evening was electric. Renovated Pullman Park opened its doors and showed its new look to a national television audience.
Brian Minto did the rest on July 2, as the Butler heavyweight boxer knocked down John Poore three times before gaining a first-round TKOin front of a sold-out ballpark.
That event was named the Butler County area sports happening of the year by a unanimous vote of the Butler Eagle sports department.
"I'm glad we made that happen,"Minto said. "Definitely, it was one of the biggest highlights of my career. We made history that night."
The show sold out in less than two weeks and had three other pro fighters from Butler — heavyweights Jim Emrick and Ryan Covert, and middleweight Dave Cook — on the card.
ESPN's "Friday Night at the Fights" televised the show live as Pullman Park hosted its first pro boxing show in decades.
"Everything came together for that show,"said longtime Butler boxing trainer Don Spinetti. "That atmosphere was incredible, all those local fighters — that night will never happen again."
Minto (32-2, 21 KO's) went on to score a fourth-round knockout at Slippery Rock University in November and hopes to fight a top 15-ranked opponent on TVin March or April.
"I want to fight a ranked opponent next time,"he said. "There's no sense in taking anything else at this point.
"My opportunity will come in the next six months. I'm confident of that."
ESPN2 commentator Teddy Atlas, a former trainer of world champions, urged Minto to land a high-profile fight after watching him take out Poore.
"You have to find out where you belong in this business. You can't just keep floating along," Atlas said.
In the meantime, Minto can look back on the Pullman Park fight card with plenty of pride — and gratitude.
He put up his own money to promote the show and to pay the fighters."I was nervous about it," Minto admitted. "If ticket sales didn't go well during that first week, I was looking to pull the plug on the whole deal."I couldn't afford to take a financial beating. But the support and enthusiasm I received from the community that night and leading up to the fight ... it was overwhelming."Minto paid himself $100 for fighting on that card. His biggest payoff was being interviewed on ESPNafter making short work of Poore."The exposure is priceless,"Minto said that night. "I'm a name on American soil again."Minto was not the only success story on that summer evening.Emrick scored a split decision over a previously unbeaten opponent and Covert knocked out Billy Greenawalt in the third round after getting knocked down seconds into his pro debut.Covert, a chef at Oakview Golf Club, said after his victory that he would not fight again. He's remained true to his word."This was a test for me tonight," he said. "I wanted to prove to myself that I could get back up if I got knocked down."I took the momentum away from him. I'll remember this night for the rest of my life."Minto said he was as happy for the other Butler fighters as he was for himself."We all got to experience together what it feels like to fight in front of your hometown,"Minto said. "I know I'm not going to forget that night."Ryan Covert said that was his world title fight, that he's one and done. Jimmy got to fight on TV. It was a fantastic night for all of us."Will Minto fight at Pullman Patk again?"I'm certainly not ruling it out,"he said. "The economy needs to turn around. Right now, people really have to watch their entertainment dollar and can't be blamed for doing that."But if it all comes together, yeah, why not?It was a successful venture before and it can be again."
