BUTLER TWP - Brian Minto is ready to take the next step.

In fact, he's been ready.

The Butler resident, who has had several of his pro heavyweight fights canceled or postponed with the frequency of one of his punching flurries, took out his frustration on Jermell Barnes at the Days Inn Tuesday night.

Minto dominated Barnes from the opening bell, showing off improved defensive skills, footwork and punching accuracy on the way to a unanimous decision.

"This was a good fight for me," Minto said. "My defense is way better than it used to be."

Barns never really hit Minto with a power blow. Instead, Minto took charge of the fight, cornering Barnes against the ropes in nearly every round and punching him with precision.

Minto outpunched Barnes 3-to-1 in the bout and was constantly on the offensive.

The judges saw it that way, too. One judge gave every round to Minto. The other two scored it 79-73.

"Brian is one of the most improved fighters in my stable," said Minto's trainer, Tommy Yankello. "He's improved so much in the last six months. In another six months, he will be considered a contender. He will be a Top 10 fighter at either heavyweight or cruiserweight."

Barnes, though, said Minto didn't dominate him as thoroughly as the judges thought.

"They gave him every round?" Barnes said. "What were they watching?"

The Rochester, N.Y., fighter, who has made a habit of battling opponents on their hometown soil, felt he put up better resistance.

"I jabbed the heck out of his butt," Barnes said. "I guess jabs don't count in Butler."

Barnes was effective at times with the jab, puffing up the skin under Minto's right eye, but the punches were sporadic.

The only shot that really hurt Minto was a blow to the right side well after the bell sounded the end of the first round.

The punch drew a chorus of boos from the crowd.

In hindsight, Barnes said he should have thrown more punches during the fight.

"I wasn't aggressive enough early," Barnes said. "Honestly, I didn't do enough early. Give him credit, though. He came to fight."

Barnes' trainer, Michael Michalitsas, said his fighter should have spent more time in the middle of the ring instead of up against the ropes.

"That didn't look good to the judges," Michalitsas said. "Minto wasn't really landing many shots, he wasn't hurting him at all, but he still had him up against the ropes."

Minto cut off the ring most of the bout, not letting Barnes position himself where he wanted to.

That allowed Minto to show off his superior footwork and stamina. He rarely looked winded or tired.

Minto has been training hard for his fight against Barnes, which was postponed twice before finally being contested Tuesday night.

"I run a mile under six minutes," Minto said. "My conditioning is awesome."

Barnes was 14-0 at one point and owned a cruiserweight championship belt, but he has now lost nine of his last 12 bouts.

Minto on the other hand is 20-1 in his career.

Now his sights turn to bigger and better things, namely possible rematches against Vinnie Maddalone or Tony Tubbs.

Minto knocked out Maddalone in a thrilling fight on ESPN2 last July. He originally was scheduled to battle Maddalone in June on ESPN2's "Friday Night Fights," but the fight was dropped from the card and canceled.

There's also a chance Minto will get another shot at the 46-year-old Tubbs, who won a split decision over Minto in late December.

"We'd love to fight Maddalone," Yankello said. "We'd also like to see Tony Tubbs again. Tony Tubbs wasn't as good a fighter as Barnes. If Brian fights him again, he'll stop him in six rounds."

Yankello said he'd like to get Minto back in the ring by the end of August or early September.

The biggest thing now is to further hone Minto's improving defensive skills.

"His defense is awesome right now," Yankello said. "But he can get better. He was climbing that mountain, preparing for this fight for so long that it's tough to stay up there. He was only at 85 or 90 percent tonight and he still beat a quality opponent.

"Defense is so important in heavyweight boxing. Avoiding a big shot is important."

Minto just hopes his next big shot isn't a punch from his opponent, but a big televised fight against him.

"I'm working on my offense, defense, fighting inside and outside," Minto said. "Becoming a complete fighter."