User blog comment:IamJakuhoRaikoben/Sorcerer Magazine, Issue 41: May 2015/@comment-26418194-20150602121708/@comment-1776824-20150603153406

You are implying that Minerva is weak. Minerva is, disregarding Erza's nakama crap, her equal. She has powerful, god-tier magic (before you even start here, just don't) and the ability to manipulate space, of which her prisons cannot be broken out of without having the ability to slice through ether, which Laxus cannot do. Just because Minerva is physically weaker than Laxus doesn't mean she can't win. The battle would have nothing to do with stamina, and Minerva doesn't have to win outright. She just has to warp Laxus away with her magic and wins by default. We aren't saying she is stronger by any means, just that in a fight between the two, Minerva's distance, spacial-rending magic is a complete counter to Laxus' melee lightning.