It’s hard to imagine that Vito Mielnicki Jnr – a pro for about seven years – hadn’t yet fought in Atlantic City. A 23-year-old from Roseland, New Jersey, Mielnicki has been the state’s biggest-drawing fighter since he turned pro seven years ago, but that’s been mostly evident at the larger venues of North Jersey and New York City, like the Prudential Center and Madison Square Garden.

The middleweight contender Mielnicki will get to show how well that fan base travels when he headlines a card on April 11 against Omar Ulises Huerta, 15-0-1 (13 KOs), at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City. The 10-round fight, which will headline a ProBox TV card, will be his fourth straight fight against an undefeated fighter. The southpaw Huerta, 30, of San Ysidro, California, has built his career exclusively in Mexico, and will make his U.S. debut, and will be fighting for the first time since he drew with the unheralded Antonio Barajas 364 days prior.

Mielnicki looks at it as an opportunity to show that he’s nearing the point where he’s ready for a title opportunity.

“I feel like just continuing to level up that the opposition continuing to put the right guys in front of me that are going to test me, that are going to push me to my limit, that are going to make me rise to the occasion and showcase my talent,” said Mielnicki, 22-1 (13 KOs).

“Omar Ulises Huerta is another one of those guys.”

The Huerta fight will be Mielnicki’s first since he signed a promotional deal with Sampson Lewkowicz, a Uruguay-born, Las Vegas-based promoter who is credited with bringing Hall-of-Famers like Manny Pacquiao and Sergio Martinez, plus current pound-for-pound candidate David Benavidez to the world stage. Mielnicki has known Lewkowicz since he was 10 or 11 years old, having met him through his father, Vito Mielnicki Snr, who had been a promoter in New Jersey for years.

The signing was a surprise to some, as Mielnicki, who left Top Rank last year and had been reported to be heading to Zuffa Boxing after scoring a ninth-round stoppage of Samuel Nmomah in November. For Mielnicki, who got to know Lewkowicz from attending ShoBox cards growing up, signing with Lewkowicz is a full-circle moment.

“I feel like he allows me to have some options with what I want to do and the way I want to go in my career,” said Mielnicki. “He also could put me in great situations for me to be in line for world title shots very soon.”

How soon that could be would depend on boxing politics. Mielnicki notes that he’s rated No. 5 by the WBO at 160lbs. Should the organization strip Janibek Alimkhanuly, instead of suspend him for a year as they have, following his failed drug test that led to his unification bout with Erislandy Lara to be canceled, and any of the four contenders rated above him fight for the vacant belt, he’d be an attractive first title defense.

“I would love it if I get a phone call. If it makes sense, 100 per cent, we’d hop on top of that opportunity,” said Mielnicki, who is training in Houston with Ronnie Shields, sparring with pros like Nishant Dev to get ready for this fight.

“Obviously there's plans, but in boxing a lot of times your plans don't really go as planned. We have an outlook and a vision of how we want things to go. I want to take care of business on April 11, and that's truly all I'm worried about right now. Whatever I have envisioned after that means nothing if I haven’t taken care of business.”

While Mielnicki sees himself as the face that can bring back big fight nights to Atlantic City, he says he’s open to big opportunities, whenever and wherever they may present themselves.

“Obviously I have the right guidance behind me, but when the right opportunities fall into your lap, you’ve got to be ready. You’ve got to be willing to go out of your comfort zone; to go and do what you got to do elsewhere,” said Mielnicki.

“I'm excited for what the future holds. The near future, for sure.”