CHESTER, W.Va. — A left jab that hurts, stings and is downright lethal.

Brian Minto's got one. Just ask Troy Weida.

The Butler heavyweight stuck his left jab in Weida's face from the opening bell, producing large red welts under both eyes, and scored a third-round technical knockout Friday night at The Harv at Mountaineer Race Track and Gaming Resort.

The fight, scheduled for eight rounds, was on the undercard of the Monty Meza-Clay-Shamir Reyes IBA world super featherweight title fight.

Minto put on a main-event caliber performance himself.

"This game is all about being patient," he said. "When you get impatient and try to force things, that's when you make mistakes.

"I was doing fine on the outside. I was gonna stay on the outside."

That's on the outside as in flicking jabs. Though in Minto's case, it's more like firing jabs.

"Brian has the best jab in the heavyweight division," said Tommy Yankello, his trainer. "No other heavyweight can throw one with that kind of authority, that kind of power.

"It's what we've been working on. He can be in the ring against a top-10 guy, a top-five guy — he'll use it the same way."

Minto (23-1, 14 KOs) was never challenged Friday. The only semblance of offense from Weida (44-21-2) came at the end of the second round, when he lunged toward Minto and threw three wild punches.

He missed badly with all three.

"I don't think he ever really hit me," Minto said.

But Minto hit him almost constantly.

The left jab continually backed Weida into the ropes, allowing Minto to uncork hooks and uppercuts. A right uppercut landed squarely on Weida's chin toward the end of the first round.

A straight left caught Weida's nose early in the second round. A left-right combination drove him into the ropes again.

"I knew the guy was a good boxer and I didn't want to box with him," Weida said. "But he was much quicker than I thought. … I couldn't keep him off me."

By the middle of Round 3, blood was trickling from a welt below Weida's left eye. A series of combinations from Minto forced Weida to cover up in the center of the ring.

As referee Dave Johnson signaled for a standing-eight count, Weida staggered to a neutral corner. He stumbled toward Johnson as the referee beckoned him forward, then the bell rang to end the round.

Johnson went to Weida's corner between rounds, checked him, and stopped the fight.

Weida's left eye was nearly swollen shut when the bout was halted.

"I was having fun with him," Minto said. "I saw the welt under his eye and kept aiming for it. I knew it (the fight) wasn't going to last much longer."

Weida's loss marked the fourth consecutive fight in which he failed to get through the fifth round. The 33-year-old Kewanee, Ill., fighter is contemplating retirement.

"He came here to fight. He wanted to fight. … He was just too slow," Minto said.

And Minto proved too awkward a talent.

"That's the smallest guy I've ever fought," Weida said. "I wasn't sure how to get to him. He never gave me much chance to get to him.

"He's good — very good. That jab comes in hard."

Minto's victory was his fourth in as many fights this year after he ended 2004 with a split-decision loss to Tony Tubbs at this venue.

"That loss is killing me right now, but I learned from it," Minto said. "It made me a better fighter."

"I've never seen a fighter come along so far in a calendar year," Yankello said. "Brian is so serious about this business. He'll go home for five days, then come right back to camp to train for his next fight."

That next fight will be Jan. 27 — Minto's 31st birthday — against 26-year-old Byron Polley (18-5-1) on the undercard of the Virgil Hill-Valery Brudov WBA cruiserweight title bout that will be televised on pay-per-view from the Tropicana Casino in Atlantic City, N.J.

Polley has won his last four fights, the last two via knockout.

"It's a risk every time you step in the ring," Minto said. "A wild punch can cut you and if a guy over 200 pounds hits you in the right spot, you're going to go down.

"I want to stay active. I'm going to stay active."

Minto remains one of the smallest heavyweights in the division, which suits Yankello just fine.

"Brian's developed his ring skills so well and he's an athlete," he said. "I believe James Toney is the best heavyweight out there right now, and he started his pro career as a 160-pounder.

"It's all in the quality of the fighter, not the size of the fighter."

Notes:

Minto weighed in at 216 pounds while Weida weighed in at 225. … Minto will be in the main event on ESPN's "Friday Night at the Fights" Feb. 24. His opponent is not known and The Harv might host that show. … Meza-Clay of Rankin, Pa., won the IBA super featherweight title.