By Ian S Palmer
Bydgoszcz, Poland will be the site for the 10-round heavyweight showdown between prospect Artur Szpilka of Poland and Brian Minto of America on Saturday June 15. Szpilka is an undefeated prospect with an impressive record of 14-0, with 11 Kos while the 38-year-old veteran Minto will enter the ring with a mark of 37-5 with 24 Kos.
Minto’s last half a dozen bouts have seen him win three and lose three. He’s won and lost all of those fights by knockout, so while he has pretty good power, his chin is quite suspect and that’s not going to help him against Szpilka. His wins came against Mike Sheppard, Matt Hicks, and Pierre Karam while his losses were to Tony Grano, Chris Arreola, and Marco Huck. He’s won two in a row though.
Szpilka is basically a hard-hitting all-action boxer and this doesn’t bode well for the visiting Minto. There’s no doubt that Minto has a lot of heart and guts and goes into every fight looking to win it. He’s just 5-foot11 though with a 72-inch reach. He turned pro back in 2002 and has faced some good opponents in Huck, Arreola, Vinny Maddalone, Tony Tubbs, Axel Schulz, and Luan Krasniqi. He’s never really been in the ring with an elite boxer though. His other losses were decisions to Krasniqi and Tubbs.
The 24-year-old Szpilka has all of the advantages here. Along with his youth, he also stands 6-foot-4 and is a southpaw. He has a lot of power and it looks like he’s taking this fight for granted since he already has another scheduled for Cellular Field in Chicago on Aug 16 when he’s going to take on Mike Mollo in a rematch. Szpilka turned pro back in 2008 and has fought in Europe and the U.S. since then.
The most well known of his 14 opponents so far have been Owen Beck, who he stopped in four rounds in Poland in 2011, and Jameel McCline, who he beat by a 10-round unanimous decision last June in Poland. He also disposed of Mollo in six rounds in February of this year in Chicago. His last bout was in April when he stopped Taras Bidenko in two rounds.
Prediction
Szpilka is a strong, young up-and-coming heavyweight who has quite a bit going for him. He’s certainly on his way up through the heavyweight ranks while Minto is past his prime and on the way down. Minto should never be counted out though due to his heart and decent power. He never gives up, but he just doesn’t have the skills to beat Szpilka by a decision. A knockout is his one and only hope in this bout and it’s not likely to happen. Look for Szpilka to win by stoppage in a relatively short, but exciting bout.
