Did anyone out there in Classic Forumland actually see that 1st fight, the 15 rounder that Alan Minter won over Vito Antufermo? I read the reports of it, and it was sort of a tactical triumph for Minter, in that he forsook his usual rough and tumble, aggressive sort of fight that he was known for, and adopted a very disciplined, tactical approach, a smart fight in other words, much like, but not identical to the one Tommy Morrison used against George Foreman. Well?
The rematch was the one where he gave Vito a one-sided beating. First fight was awful on just about every level.
The first fight was so close that it could legitimately have gone either way. Many people in fact believed that the decision for Minter was a robbery. I watched the fight live on television, and scored it in favor of Antuofermo by a close margin. Admittedly if I get a chance to watch it again though I could easily score it for Minter. It was that close. Minter boxed well, but Antuofermo succeeded in forcing his way inside all night. Antuofermo seemed to throw more punches, and he was easily more aggressive. Just how many of Vito's punches scored cleanly is an open question though. Minter patiently boxed, using his jab and counterpunches to score points. Again, however, it was hard to tell how effective Minter's punches were. Overall, it was hard to tell who was dictating the pace of the fight and/or doing more effective scoring. Many people believed that the key difference between the fighters was that Vito was outworking Minter. As for the rematch, held a few months later, Minter fought a perfect fight and outclassed Antuofermo.
As i Recall at the time the Minter camp where very concerned at the damage Vito might do to Minters Cut-prone Eyes, with his head and Elbows should he let Vito Drag him into the Close-quarters Maul that Vito was so effective at, Minter had lost some previous fights by Cuts, and the feeling was, away from home, keep disiplined, Just get the win, without getting too involved, Alan of course felt much more comfortable with Vito on home turf as the rematch showed,
I saw the first one on tv and the other fight live Minter won the first clearly on my card , ,and dominated the second.
