Minto Crushes Van Sickle!
Ends It in One...

April 26, 2008
Ringside Report & Photos: Gary Sarti

Early in the opening moments of the first round, Brian "The Beast" Minto of Butler, PA landed several hard shots to the body and head of former NABA cruiserweight champ Chad Van Sickle of Columbus, OH. Van Sickle reacted to the assault by clutching and grabbing Minto.

Although he was in a clinch, Minto - a compact 5' 11" of bulky muscle - continued to connect with hooks upstairs and downstairs to the 6' 2" frame of Van Sickle. Toward the end of the first round, Minto had established the distance he needed to escape the clutching and grabbing of Van Sickle. As the bell sounded to end the opening stanza, Minto pinned Van Sickle in the corner and landed a vicious left hook, opening a nasty cut on the right ear of Van Sickle.

Referee Dave Johnson forced a separation as the fighters continued to throw punches after the bell sounded. Van Sickle fell to the canvas upon the separation. Van Sickle's equilibrium was seemingly affected as he struggled to make it back to his corner.

After an examination of Van Sickle in between rounds, the ringside physician stopped the contest due to possible damage to Van Sickle's eardrum. Minto was awarded a TKO victory at 3:00 of the first round.

With the victory, Minto successfully defended his WBA Fedcentro title and he captured the vacant West Virginia State title.

During the post-fight, Minto referenced that his last three fights have all ended in first round stoppages, which he attributed to hard work in the gym that has increased his punching power. The victory raises Minto's record to 30-2. Van Sickle falls to 22-8-2. Minto's next bout is tentatively schedule for early July on ESPN 2.

Minto vs Van Sickle Photos

Kimbrough Decisions Jones!

Verquan Kimbrough of Aliquippa, PA established his jab early on the way to a unanimous decision victory over Rodney Jones of Ft. Smith, AK to claim the NABA lightweight title.

The superior boxing skills of Kimbrough became evident early in the first round as he easily moved around the ring to land his combinations on the clueless Jones. KimbroughÕs quicksilver hand speed allowed him to catch Jones with a couple of big shots in the second round. Jones developed swelling above his left eye from a collision of heads in the third round and his nose began bleeding from KimbroughÕs frequent jabs. The middle rounds saw a lot of roughhousing from Jones as Kimbrough continued to land quick jabs and combinations. Jones floored Kimbrough with a low blow midway through the eighth round. After he recovered from the low blow, Kimbrough launched a vicious attack to the body and head. Kimbrough continued to connect with sharp punches to counter the hard charging Jones in the later rounds. The judges scored the bout 100-90, 98-92 and 99-91. Kimbrough improves to 20-1-1. Jones falls to 27-8.

Kimbrough vs Jones Photos

Other Results!

Heavyweight Nicolai Firtha of Akron, OH easily defeated Carlton Johnson of Pittsburgh, PA. Firtha sent Johnson to the canvas late in the second round. Referee Dave Johnson stopped the bout at 2:37 of the third round. Firtha's record now stands at 14-4-1 while Johnson falls to 15-16.

Middleweight Dave Cook of Butler, PA looked impressive in stopping Mike Melbar of Cleveland, OH. Cook landed big body shots early on his way to a TKO at 2:51 of the second round. Cook's record is now 2-0 with 2 KOs, while Melbar falls to 2-2.

In his professional debut, heavyweight Branden Lee Hinkle of Steubenville, OH defeated Billy Greenawalt of Youngstown, OH with a TKO at 2:59 of the first round. Greenawalt falls to 1-3.

Middleweight Jimmy Lubash of Pittsburgh, PA defeated Robert Wilder of Akron, OH. Lubash was sharp from the opening bell and badly bloodied the nose of Wilder in the second round. Lubash continued to connect with big shots in the third round, when Referee Tim Wheeler stopped the bout at 2:43. Lubash raises his record to 6-1. Wilder's record drops to 2-3.

In the Sunday matinee's opening bout, Tom Joseph of Youngstown, OH won a majority decision over Cliff Gregory of Farrell, PA. Two judges scored the bout 39-37, 40-36 for Joseph, with one judge scoring the bout 38-38. With the victory, Joseph's record now stands at 2-1, while Gregory crashes to 0-3-2.