ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. — Vito Mielnicki Jnr says his development stage is over and he’s ready to face the best at 160lbs.
The 23-year-old Mielnicki, now 23-1 (13 KOs), won his third straight fight against an undefeated opponent on Saturday, pitching a near-shutout of Mexican southpaw Omar Huerta in the main event of a ProBox TV broadcast at Boardwalk Hall.
Even though he won all but one round on a single scorecard, the boxer-puncher from Roseland, New Jersey, admitted there were things he could have done better, like using his hook to bang away at the arms and guard of his opponent to open up more opportunities.
“I let him back in the fight in the middle rounds. I could have stepped on the gas more. But this is boxing, things we got to work on in the gym,” said Mielnicki.
“I feel as though I stuck to the game plan. [Trainer Ronnie Shields] was on me, ‘Stick to boxing, just keep doing what you’re doing.’ This is the kind of guy where he’s rangy, you get caught with stupid shots, a Mexican fighter who's not gonna stop, [is] gonna fight to the very end.”
Asked what he wanted to do next, Mielnicki said this is the year where he’ll be ready for the top fighters at 160lbs.
“I want the top guys by the end of this year. I know there's a lot of opportunities on the horizon. That’s what I want,” said Mielnicki Jnr, who is promoted by Sampson Lewkowicz.
Shields, who has worked with Mielnicki for the past three years, says he liked what he saw in the fight – aside from a lapse in the ninth round where Mielnicki took a couple left hands. The trainer – who has worked with champions like the Charlo brothers, Vernon Forrest and Evander Holyfield, plus current WBA middleweight titleholder Erislandy Lara – feels that Mielnicki is knocking on the door of a championship of his own.
“I think [in] a couple more fights, he’ll be ready to fight for the world title. I would love to see him fight a top 15 guy next,” said the Houston-based Shields.
“I really believe that Vito is going to be world champion. I love the guys that are champion right now at middleweight, and I think Vito, in one or two fights, can fight any one of them.”
Middleweight, long one of the sport’s glamour divisions, has been in flux as of late, with Janibek Alimkhanuly being stripped of the IBF middleweight title and “suspended” as champion by the WBO following a failed drug test ahead of an aborted unification fight with Lara, a longtime titleholder at 154lbs and 160lbs who is now 43 years old. The WBC title is currently held by Carlos Adames of the Dominican Republic.
Mielnicki entered the fight rated No. 5 by the WBO, plus No. 9 with the IBF and WBC.
Saturday’s fight was Mielnicki’s first in Atlantic City — a surprising milestone for a fighter who has been one of New Jersey’s biggest local draws for much of his seven-year professional career. He was greeted backstage by members of his extended family, plus former world champions Iran Barkley and Junior Jones. Before departing into the Atlantic City night for a celebration after-party, Mielnicki reiterated that he wants bigger challenges in the near future.
“Any of these guys that are willing to give me the opportunity,” Mielnicki said. “I'm not picky. My team and I will go to the drawing board. This is boxing. This is business. Everything’s got to make sense. Numbers got to make sense. The opportunities got to make sense. Platforms gotta make sense.
“I think the better the opposition, the better I'm gonna perform.”
Ryan Songalia is a reporter and editor for BoxingScene.com and has written for ESPN, the New York Daily News, Rappler, The Guardian, Vice and The Ring magazine. He holds a Master’s degree in Journalism from the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism and is a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America. He can be reached at ryansongalia@gmail.com or on Twitter at @ryansongalia.
