Butler heayweight Brian Minto dropped a 12-round unanimous decision to Luan Krasniqi Saturday night in Stuttgart, Germany.

Minto (27-2, 16 KO's) was trying to win the vacant World Boxing Organization Intercontinental heavyweight title and move closer to a world championship fight. He entered the bout ranked No. 15 by the WBO.

Krasniqi (30-2-1, 14 KO's) was ranked No. 6 by the WBOentering the fight.

Saturday's fight began with Minto pressing the issue against his German opponent before Krasniqi landed a solid right hand in Round 2.

Minto got back into the fight during the middle rounds, bullying Krasniqi against the ropes a few times, and the fight remained competitive until the final round.

During the 12th round, Krasniqi, 34, landed a barrage of punches on Minto, knocking the 32-year-old fighter to the canvas. Minto got to his feet before the 10-count and went the distance.

Krasniqi won by counts of 116-111, 116-111, 115-112 on the judges' scorecards.

While the bout was billed in Germany as getting revenge on Minto for his sixth-round TKOof German icon Axel Schulz three months ago, Krasniqi never saw it that way.

"I have no connection with Schulz,"he said during a pre-fight interview on FightNews.com. "To me, the furthest thing I want to be is his avenger."

Krasniqi opted to fight Minto as a means of getting closer to a second world title fight of his own. He suffered a ninth-round TKO against Lamont Brewster in a WBO title bout two years ago.

Krasniqi's win over Minto marked only his second fight since that loss to Brewster.

Minto was knocked down Saturday night for only the second time in his professional career. He was dropped in the first round of his first fight against Vinny Maddalone before rallying to knock Maddalone out in the 10th round of a bout televised live on ESPN.

Saturday's loss ended a nine-match winning streak for Minto. His only other pro loss was a controversial split-decision to former heavyweight champion Tony Tubbs on Dec. 30, 2004, in Chester, W.Va.