By Keith Idec

Vito Mielnicki Jr.’s performance in the ring and at the box office for his pro debut has resonated with prominent promoters.

Anthony Catanzaro, Mielnicki’s manager, told BoxingScene.com that the incoming high school senior has attracted attention from several promoters that want to work with the 17-year-old welterweight. That interest intensified once Milenicki made a spectacular pro debut July 13 at Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey.

Mielnicki scored a vicious first-round knockout against Tamarcus Smith that night on Newark native Shakur Stevenson’s undercard. The Roseland, New Jersey, resident’s knockout was one of the “Top 10 Plays of the Day” on ESPN’s SportsCenter later that night.

Mielnicki’s team sold more than 1,000 tickets to that event as well. The announced attendance for the show was 5,150.

Bob Arum’s Top Rank Inc., the promoter of the July 13 card, is among the companies that wants to sign Mielnicki.

“As you can imagine, after Vito’s spectacular pro debut we’ve received a lot of interest from people who want to work with him,” Catanzaro said. “Because of his amateur background, the fact that he’s a ticket-seller and truly marketable and promotable, he’s being pursued aggressively for his services by the top promoters in boxing. We’re weighing all of our options to see what’s best for Vito’s career and we expect to make a decision soon.”

Mielnicki went 147-22 during a nine-year amateur career, captured championships at various national tournaments and was part of USA Boxing’s Junior National Team in 2018. The teenager and his father, promoter Vito Mielnicki, decided in the spring to turn pro, rather than attempting to make the U.S. team for 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo.

Mielnicki expects to return to the ring sometime in the fall, once he has started his senior year at West Essex High School. Mielnicki, who turned 17 on May 10, is the first boxer in recent New Jersey history to have fought professionally before beginning his senior year of high school.

“I have faith in Anthony and in my dad,” Mielnicki said regarding which promoter he’ll pick. “We’re discussing it internally.”

Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.