‘I could take a punch’: How Butler grad Minto earned Hometown Hero nod
Brian Minto made a name for himself in the sport of boxing, compiling a 42-11 record as a professional and earning a number of heavyweight title belts during his 14-year career, which included a top 10 world ranking.
But before he was unleashing hooks and uppercuts in the ring, he was wreaking havoc with opposing offenses as a linebacker for Butler High School's football team.
A three-year starter for the Golden Tornado, Minto led the team in tackles and was named to the Quad North Conference's first team as a senior in 1992. His efforts helped Butler reach the WPIAL semifinals.
A decade later, he embarked on a boxing career that helped transform his life. He will officially become part of Butler Football's Hometown Heroes program during a ceremony at the Penn Theater Aug. 31. The night before, he will be honored prior to the Golden Tornado’s football game against Brashear at Art Bernardi Stadium.
"Hometown Heroes honors those who have been associated with Butler football and went on to bring a positive light to the city," said former Butler Eagle sports editor John Enrietto, a current member of the Hometown Heroes committee who covered Minto’s boxing career and interviewed him many times. “Considering the success Brian had in the ring, we felt he would be a good fit.”
It wasn't just Minto's athletic ability that caught the attention of then-Butler linebacker coach Ralph McElhaney, also a committee member.
"I met Brian for the first time when he was 15 years old," he said. "He was respectable to us coaches, but on the field he was like a wild animal we needed to tame.
"He did not shy away from contact. He seeked it out and had a chip on his shoulder."
Minto recently reflected on his mind-set as a teenager.
"I was an angry, frustrated kid," he said. "I went through some dark days early in my life and football was a release for me. It was something I was good at and it gave me something else to focus on."
Minto's aggression led to a number of big moments for him and the Tornado, but one in particular stands out.
"My senior year, we played a home game against North Allegheny," he said. "We were down late and a lot of the fans were leaving the stadium. We ended up winning the game in the final seconds. I had about 18 tackles that night and a lot of those same fans who were leaving stormed the field."
Minto went on to play football in college, first at Potomac State in West Virginia and then Slippery Rock University. But he was out of school and his playing days were over before his senior year.
He began working different jobs to make ends meet. He also spent time boxing at the Butler Cubs Hall. It was not his first time with gloves on.
"I started going to the Cubs Hall to train and box when I was 15, but it was off and on at that point," he said. "At the time, my passion was football, but I enjoyed boxing, too.
"When I was 22 or 23, I was a broken soul. I was overweight, about 250 pounds, and had to come up with a better plan for my life."
As football had been earlier in his life, boxing was an outlet for Minto. He spent more and more time in the gym and progressed enough that he reached the national Golden Gloves semifinals when he was 26. While at the competition, he was urged to turn pro.
After an 18-2 record as an amateur and two months before his 28th birthday, Minto won his first professional bout with a 2nd-round knockout of Leroy Loscar.
"The purse was $400 and I needed money to buy Christmas gifts for my family," said Minto. "I ended up with 18 fights (all wins) in the first year and a half. When I turned pro, I was still learning things about the sport. I was raw in the ring, but had the will to win. My defense wasn't great, but fortunately, I could take a punch."
Boxing had given Minto a way to scratch that competitive itch he had been missing since his football career ended, though being in the ring was far different from the gridiron.
“There’s no help for you in boxing like there is in football. You have to be prepared to go to war,” he said. “In a way, it’s you against you because you have to have the right mind-set. As you’re walking down that aisle and going up those three steps to the ring, if you’re not mentally prepared, it’s going to be a bad night for you.”
Two fights during his career stand out the most for Minto. One, televised by ESPN, was against Vinny Maddalone in Atlantic City in July 2004. It was the first of two times they would meet in the ring.
Minto entered the bout with a perfect 17-0 record and Maddalone was 21-1. The latter was ahead on all three cards going into the 10th and final round, but left himself open after throwing a right hook that missed. Minto answered with a crushing left hook to the face that sent Maddalone to the canvas. He tried to get up, but fell to his knees before the referee stopped the bout.
“That fight took a lot out of Brian, but he believed he had to at least finish or he would be letting his family, friends and the city of Butler down,” said Enrietto. “That win really lifted his career to another level.”
Sixteen months later, Minto had a memorable encounter with Axel Schulz in Germany.
“I broke my thumb 18 days before that fight, couldn’t even put a glove on until the day before,” Minto said. “I stuck to my faith and truly believe God healed my hand enough so I could box.
“I was a 10-to-1 underdog, but knocked him out in the sixth round. There were 15,000 people in the stadium and you could’ve heard a pin drop when I won.”
Minto’s final fight, a victory via TKO over Andras Csomor, came at Pullman Park in 2016. It was the 27th knockout of his career.
To coincide with his induction, a documentary about Minto’s life and career by filmmaker Dequwan Young will premiere next Saturday at the Penn Theater.
“This is the 20th year for the Hometown Heroes,” said McElhaney, who like Enrietto, is a past inductee. “We thought it would be a good idea to honor inductees from over the years, both those who are living and those who have passed on.”
A meet-and-greet session will be held from 5 to 6 p.m. at the Springhill Suites Hotel on East Jefferson Street in Butler, followed by the induction ceremony, recognition of past inductees and the documentary film at the Penn Theater.
“Hometown Heroes is a great organization,” said Minto. “It’s awesome that my induction comes at the same time as the debut of the film.”
Limited tickets are available. Visit www.thepenntheater.org.
