ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. — Two boxers with two different strategies.

And Brian Minto executed his much more effectively.

The 31-year-old Butler native won a unanimous decision against Danny Batchelder Friday night in their bout at the Tropicana Casino.

The win gives Minto the World Boxing Organization's Asian-Pacific heavyweight title, which was vacant before the fight.

Judges scored the bout 96-94, 97-93 and 97-93 in Minto's favor.

Batchelder weighed in at 208 pounds, the heaviest he's been for a fight in his 10 years as a pro. He had been ranked as high as ninth as a super middleweight.

Batchelder's plan was to keep his distance from Minto, using his reach advantage to score points with jabs and hooks.

Minto (25-1, 14 KOs) looked to get inside, where Batchelder's longer arms were not a factor.

After the 10-round bout, there was no doubt as to which fighter accomplished his goal.

"Brian was able to come inside using his jab," said Minto's trainer Tom Yankello. "He got in some really good body shots."

"I thought I was better conditioned (than Batchelder) for this fight," said Minto. "And I wanted to slowly put pressure on him and move inside.

"He caught me with a few good shots," Minto added. "But I was never in trouble."

The fight opened with Batchelder attempting to keep his distance by backing up and throwing faint jabs, most of them hitting nothing but air.

Minto forced his opponent against the ropes with 40 seconds left in the first round and landed solid shots to Batchelder's body along with a few hooks to his head.

It was the third round when Minto simply imposed his will on Batchelder (24-2-1, 11 KOs).

With just 30 seconds gone in the round, Batchelder was up against the ropes.

Except for a few unsuccessful attempts to give himself some breathing room, Batchelder spent the next minute and a half in the same position: his back to the ropes and his gloves pressed against his own face, trying to protect himself from just about every punch in Minto's arsenal.

Finally, with under a minute left before the bell, Batchelder was able to bring himself off the ropes, after which Minto was warned for landing a low blow, giving the former a few more seconds to regroup.

"I knew (Batchelder) had skill," said Minto. "He was looking for a fight tonight, but I just wanted to wear him down."

After Batchelder was able to retaliate with solid showings in the fourth and fifth rounds, Minto began to take control for good in the sixth.

With 1:15 remaining in that round, Minto landed a left hook as the two boxers stood square in the middle of the ring.

Near the end of the round, a small cut above Batchelder's left eye was visible.

Minto controlled the action the rest of the way, withstanding a few solid shots in the 10th round from Batchelder, who needed a knockout to win by that point.

"We knew (Batchelder) wasn't a guy who moved around a lot," said Yankello. "Instead, he's slick and uses a lot of side steps, which is a sign of a good boxer.

"But Brian simply outworked the kid tonight," Yankello added. "I thought Brian won seven of the 10 rounds, which is what two of the judges thought as well. Getting inside by using that jab, that was the key."

The win sets up a possible fight between Minto and seventh-ranked heavyweight James Toney (69-4-3, 43 KOs) later this summer.

"There's a good possibility of that," said Yankello. "We'll just have to wait and see."