Recently rising Heavyweight Brian Minto went across the pond and slammed the door shut on the come-back effort of Axel Schulz. Minto went right into Schulz backyard of Germany and put
on a boxing clinic that took the former Heavyweight title challenger by surprise. In this Boxingtalk exclusive Minto blasts boxing promoter Dino Duva, Minto accuses Duva of not paying him his full purses, and making empty promises that were never fulfilled.


BT - Brian you went to Germany and stopped Axel Schulz in the 6th round, talk about your performance.

BM - I thought I fought one of the best possible fights that I could fight. He was pretty quick, but it wasn't his night it was my night. They brought me out there in front of 15,000 people, but he was the one that looked scared when he got into the ring. I was relaxed, he looked really nervous. The first round they probably gave to him, but after that I took control of the fight and knocked him out in the 6th.

BT - Why in the Hell would they pick you to make a comeback against ?

BM - Well they looked at my record, the rankings, my size, my weight and they didn't believe that I could fight. There are a lot of people out there that think that, and that's how I win my fights, they think I'm supposed to lose, but I end up winning.

BT - Where do you go from here Brian ?

BM - Hopefully get a big fight over in Germany, the people over there adopted me. I might just go back over there and fight someone like a Luan Krasniqi, we will just wait and see. I have a lot of other issues right now, and you know what they are Brad.

BT - What's up with your promotional contract with Dino Duva ?

BM - My promotional contract is in breach, and no good. I wasn't paid the money that I was supposed to have been paid for certain televised fights, the number of fights thus far Dino has not
got me, and I was supposed to have a certified contract in the mail by October the 18th that I never received. Duva says that he faxed the contract, but he never faxed it to my house, I
never got the contract, and never signed anything. Dino is just upset, and for a guy that flew me to New York City in the winter, and made all of these promises, and after the first year the contract was no good because the fight with Maddelone was not the agreed amount that he proposed to me. Me and my attorney feel very strong about this case, if Duva wants to sew me, let him sew me because he's getting a counter suit on him. Boxing is a shady business, and promoters have a license to steal from fighters. The amount of money that they try to demand is crazy. The promoters want to make all of this money while we fighters get our brains beat in, and don't get paid. As boxers we all need to stand up for each other, and not let these promoters intimidate us, and threaten us. Nobody can keep you from working in The United States, and as far as I am concerned I am a free agent, and I am shopping around. Dino Duva can sue President Bush for all I care, it doesn't matter because I am ready to take action and I am confident in my case.

BT - So as of right now in your mind you're a free agent, but won't this have to go to litigation Brian ?

BM - If it does so be it, I am willing to go to litigation and I believe the judge will see it my way. I heard Dino Duva sold 50 percent of his company, so what does that tell you? The guy obviously
can't manage his own company so he has to sell it to someone who has money. I was always on the back-burner behind Sam Peter, and the only reason I fought on ESPN against Batchelder
was because Kendall Holt got hurt, and they weren't going to put Marrone on the main event. I think Duva used me, he didn't believe in me, and he lied to me talking about giving me a
signing bonus. The guy is a liar, he's not a good businessman and he stiffs a lot of fighters. It is what it is, he wants to be threatening people on the computer? he is doing this all the wrong
way, he breached his agreement with me first. He NEVER invested money into me, I came to him at 18-0 on a silver platter and signed the promotional contract, and I could shoot myself for doing that today. Duva never gave me a signing bonus, he never gave me nothing. All of the fights besides maybe 4 of them, everyone else paid my purses. Duva is not the guy he claims to be as a promoter. Duva is a nickle and dime promoter, and he's not like a Don King, or a Bob Arum. I think fighters need to stand up and stick together, without us they don't have a show.

BT - If there are promoters that are interested in promoting you, are they going to want to talk to you with all of this going on ?

BM - It's going to get settled, Dino can do what he wants. I already have a lot of people contacting me, and truthfully? they don't care. I am just waiting to see what happens. I am just letting people know the truth, I was NEVER paid the minimum amount of my money that was guaranteed upon, and he went and said that he invested all of this money on me? He never invested
a dime on me. Duva got me on a silver platter.


BT - So Duva had nothing to do with your recent fight against Schulz in Germany ?

BM - He had nothing to do with it. My manager does a perfect job at getting me fights, and he is going to remain doing that. I have nothing to do with Dino Duva, he can say what he wants to say, and he can threaten whoever he wants, he threatened the Germans and didn't do anything. Now that I won the fight, he'll probably come after me, but I am ready for whatever he does. I got the tapes to prove the fights that I fought on certain networks, and I got checks to prove that what I was paid and never signed off on them to count as fights for the Duva contract. I am willing to go to whatever it takes, and if Dino wants to go to war, I am ready to go to war.

BT - Minto, if what you're saying is true, why do you think Duva would want to do this to you ?

BM - Because he's greedy, it's all about money. He is obviously broke if he's lying to me, doing stupid stuff not paying me certain minimums, trying to get me down all of the time. I mean when a guy does something to another promoter like steals the site fee money, it shows what kind of person he is.

BT - Are you open to negotiate with other promoters ?

BM - I have already been negotiating with other promoters.

BT - When do you want to get back in there ?

BM - 3 or 4 months. I called Wladimir Klitschko out, he was in the front row at my fight in Germany.

BT - Really? what did he say ?

BM - He went " wooooooooo" like a little kid would say. (laughing). I called him out (laughs), he didn't like that.

BT - Brian is there anything else that you would like to say in closing ?

BM - I want to thank everybody, and for those who don't believe in me keep watching me.

M

Send questions and comments to: bradcooney1@bellsouth.net