By Jake Donovan 

The official verdict barely makes a ripple in the grand scheme of things, but those on hand at Pullman Park in Butler, PA got what they wanted as hometown favorite Brian Minto scored a first round knockout over cross-state heavyweight rival John Poore.

The heavyweight bout served as the ESPN2 Wednesday Night Fights main event.

Minto wasted no time in taking the fight to Poore, who never had a chance on paper or in reality. A right hand midway through the round served as the beginning of the end as Poore was dropped for the first time. He easily beat the count, but would've been better off taking the full ten.

A right uppercut produced the second knockdown moments later, with Poore laying flat on the canvas as if he had second thoughts about getting up. A glutton for punishment he was, climbing off of the deck, only to offer absolutely nothing in return. Minto went for broke, unloading on Poore, who remained covered up in a corner while the referee warned him to fight back or else he'd stop the fight. The ref would have his job done for him; another right uppercut crumpled Poore to the canvas, this time the fight waved off without a count.

The official time of the knockout was 2:23 of round.

Punchstat numbers credited Minto with landing 54 out of 98 punches, an especially high number for a heavyweight. It paved the way for his fourth straight win, all via 1st round knockout. The fringe heavyweight contender advances to 31-2 (20KO) with the win. All four knockouts have come within the last eleven months, after having lost to Luan Krasniqi last March in Germany.

It's back to the club circuit for John Poore, a last name oh so befitting of his skill level. The heavyweight journeyman falls to 20-3 (18KO) with the loss, snapping a three-fight win streak, albeit against upside-down opposition.

Add Tommy Karpency to the list of previously unbeaten fighters losing their "0" on The Deuce. The co-feature went the upset route, with Karpency on the wrong end of a close unanimous decision against late substitute Rayco Saunders in a battle of local light heavyweights. 

Saunders accepted the fight on one week's notice after Dallas Vargas was pulled from the show. The Pittsburgh journeyman made the most of his opportunity though took a couple of rounds to get going. Karpency gave the perception of being the busier fighter in the early going, while Saunders was effective in picking his spots.

A pair of low blows in the third round seemed to wake up Saunders, who took his sweet time on both occasions. The first low blow was below the belt; the second was aided by Saunders pulling down on the back of Karpency's head, altering the trajectory of the southpaw's punch. From there on out, Saunders pressed the action, forcing Karpency to fight in reverse.

The tempo of the bout never really changed. Saunders forced Karpency to fight, touching the body while constantly moving forward. It proved to be just enough in the end; all three judges saw the bout 76-75 in favor of Saunders, who improves to 16-10-2 (7KO). The win is his first since November 2005, having went 0-4-1 in that stretch.

Karpency drops to 11-1-1 (7KO). He is now winless in his last two fights, which have taken place three weeks apart, after having previously sprinted out to eleven straight victories to start his career.

Jimmy Lubash was victorious in the televised opener, taking a six-round decision over previously unbeaten David Cook (no, not THAT David Cook).

Lubash, who lost his hearing at age three due to bacterial meningitis, controlled the action throughout, but was also flirting with disqualification. A low blow that was well below the border drew the Pittsburgh (PA) native a stern warning from Gary Rosato in round two, with another errant shot earning him a point deduction in the fourth.

The infraction almost made a difference on the final scorecards, since it doesn't take much to swing a six-round bout the opposite way. Cook couldn't capitalize, however, as he was pushing his punches all night and never really got anything going offensively.

Final scores were 57-56 (2x) 58-55 for Lubash, who improves to 8-1 (2KO) with the win, his fourth straight.

Cook loses for the first time as a pro, falling 3-1 (2KO).

The early exit in the main event allowed for a pair of local heavyweights to receive unexpected airtime. Late bloomer Jim Emrick emerged victorious in the four-round swing bout, scoring a split decision over Anthony Gatt. A first round knockdown, produced by a heavy Emrick jab seconds into the fight, proved to be the difference on the cards, which read 38-37 (2x) for Emrick (5-1-1, 2KO) and 38-37 for Gatt (6-1-1, 4KO).

The show was presented by Beatdown Promotions, LLC.

Jake Donovan is a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America and the Tennessee Boxing Advisory Board. Contact Jake at JakeNDaBox@gmail.com