TORONTO boxer Blake Minto has revealed the source of the inspiration that drove him to win a gruelling eight-round bout for the Australasian welterweight title.
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Minto, 24, scored a points victory over the rangy Eddie Dos Santos to win the World Boxing Foundation’s (WBF’s) vacant title at Wests City, in Newcastle, on April 1.
The local turned on a relentless work rate and a gutsy switch-hitting game plan to overwhelm and confuse his taller opponent in what the WBF website said was the fight of the night on the Detonation 8 promotion card.
Minto said it was an emotional win, knowing that his ill grandfather, Garry Minto, 68, was waiting to hear the verdict in his hospital bed.
“Pa was the inspiration and full motivation for me in this fight,” Minto said.
At the end of the sixth round, Minto had expended a lot of energy and the title was very much in the balance.
It was at that moment that his trainers and cornermen Ben Crampton and Daniel Ford played their trump card.
“They just shook me around the shoulders and said ‘Do these last two rounds for your pa’,” Minto said.
The final two rounds saw Minto seize the momentum and finish over the top of Dos Santos.
Minto said his grandfather passed away last Tuesday.
But not before the boxer had a chance to visit him in The Mater hospital with the Australasian belt.
“Pa just told me it was a great achievement,” Minto said. “He had a smile from ear to ear. It was great to see.”
The method of Minto’s victory impressed the WBF who noted: “His style, work rate and level of fitness reminded officials in attendance of a bygone era of 15-round fighters”.
Minto agreed his fitness proved the difference.
“I was extremely well-conditioned for that fight. By the 7th and 8th rounds I really had the momentum,” he said.
Minto’s team devised a game plan to counter the height and reach advantage of Dos Santos, and it worked a treat.
“I just put constant pressure on him, moving in and out,” Minto said.
Dos Santos’s reach proved a major obstacle, he said.
“There were a couple of times when I thought I was out of range and I’d drop my hands for just a second and he’d go whack and hit me,” Minto smiled.
The game plan also involved the high-risk tactic of switch hitting, where Minto would change from his natural orthodox stance to that of a southpaw.
“I took a while to adapt, but practice makes perfect, and it was definitely throwing Dos Santos off a bit,” Minto said.
Minto said he would consider dropping down to his natural junior welterweight division for his next bout, and would ultimately like to pursue national and Commonwealth titles.
