CHESTER, W.Va. — Lesson learned.

When Brian Minto got caught with a straight right hand in the first round Saturday night, visions of Tony Grano danced in his head.

Good thing.

The Butler heavyweight withstood the early shot, bought himself time, then posted a convincing fourth-round knockout of Mike Sheppard in their NABA-US heavyweight title fight at The Harv.

Sheppard stunned Minto with a solid right to the top of the head early in the bout. It was the same type of punch Grano used to eventually score a third-round TKO of Minto in January.

“I learned from that fight,” Minto said. “When Grano hit me, I got up and started swinging back right away.

“You need recovery time when you get hit like that. This time, I held on to him, tied him up, took some time to clear my head.”

Trainer Tommy Yankello said Minto “was standing too straight up” at the start of the fight.

“That’s how he got hit,” Yankello said. “Once he adjusted from that, he put on a dominating performance.”

Minto didn’t go down from the Sheppard punch — but he came close. His legs wobbled and his knees sagged to within a foot or so from the canvas.

“I’ll admit it. He caught me flush. I’m surprised I didn’t go down,” Minto said.

When he didn’t, it was an opportunity lost for Sheppard.

Minto used an effective left jab to set up body punches in the second round that repeatedly doubled Sheppard over. The West Virginia fighter dropped to the canvas early in the round, grasping his mid-section, and referee Tim Wheeler cautioned Minto for a low blow.

By the round’s end, Minto had Sheppard trapped in a corner, landing blows to the head and body as Sheppard was unable to straighten up.

“He caught me once on the liver and that hurt,” Sheppard said. “That didn’t cost me the fight, though. I’m not used to facing guys smaller than me. I was trying to back away, take advantage of my reach, but he was relentless.

“I couldn’t get any room and I paid the price.”

Sheppard is 6-foot-2 and weighed in at 227 pounds. Minto is 5-11 and weighed in at 213.

Sheppard was knocked down by body blows twice in the third round, receiving standing-8 counts. The bout was also delayed twice when tape around Sheppard’s gloves came loose.

“I might have caught him a little low one time. ... The guy is from West Virginia and they were going to give him as much time as they could,” Minto said of the delays. “The referee kept telling me to watch the low punches, he was going to take a point away, but he never did.”

Minto abruptly ended the fight at 2:22 of the fourth round. Doubling Sheppard over with another body shot, he followed up with a solid right hand over the top that dropped his opponent immediately.

Sheppard got to his feet midway through the count, but the referee stopped the bout at that point.

“Hard head, soft body,” Minto said. “That was what we saw when we looked at the tapes of (Sheppard).”

Sheppard said the knockout punch was the only time Minto truly hit him hard.

“The other knockdowns ... I was tired,” he said. “The guy wore me out more than anything. He knows how to fight. I wish him well.

“My time to get him was early. But he’s an old veteran and knew what to do when he got hurt. He never gave me a chance to follow up and I give him credit for that.”

Sheppard (20-14) is a full-time teacher in West Virginia. He worked all day Friday before reporting for the weigh-in.

“I was really ready for this fight,” he said. “If I’m going to get into the ring against these world-class fighters, though, I need to do more work.”

Sheppard suffered a broken nose in the bout. His face was badly bruised and a bloody welt formed on his forehead.

“Once Brian got inside on him, it was his fight. He took control totally,” Yankello said.

Minto (37-5, 24 KOs) stopped an opponent in four rounds or less for the 19th time in his career.

Winning the NABA title gives him a top-15 ranking in the WBA and makes Minto eligible for a world title fight.

“We’re hoping a world heavyweight or cruiserweight fight is next for him,” Minto’s manager, Pat Nelson, said. “He’s won two straight and three of his last four fights in convincing fashion.

“If we have to, we’ll fight someone else to keep busy, but Brian is a prime candidate for a title shot.”

Jason Bergman (20-9-3), a 28-year-old heavyweight, challenged Minto to a match at a later date at The Harv.

“I’m not going to fight another guy for nothing,” Minto said. “I needed this tonight. I needed to take a heavy shot and show myself I could come back from it. This was good for me.”