The building that lifted Polish boxing to new heights in America will host another card featuring a heavy Polish influence this Saturday.
The card at Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey, will feature Vito Mielnicki Jnr – a Polish-American middleweight with a large following in his home state – against Poland’s Kamil Gardzielik, while the co-main event pairs unbeaten Polish heavyweights Damian Knyba and Marcin Siwy in a 10-round bout.
Mielnicki recalls his days as a young child when he would watch Tomasz Adamek – who was in attendance for Thursday’s press conference – light up the building as a sort of Northern Jersey version of Arturo Gatti.
“We’ve put together a great game plan,” said Mielnicki, 20-1-1 (12 KOs), of Roseland, New Jersey. “I remember coming here as a kid to watch Tomasz Adamek at Prudential Center. And I’m just excited to be here. I’m living my dream.”
The fight will be a second opportunity for the 23-year-old Mielnicki to establish himself as a middleweight contender following a disappointing draw against unbeaten Irish contender Connor Coyle last February, which Mielnicki strongly asserts that he won.
Gardzielik, 19-0 (4 KOs), of Warsaw, Poland, is nine years older than Mielnicki and is fighting in just his second 10-round fight.
"He’s coming to win. I’m coming to win,” said Mielnicki. “But rest assured, I’m coming to dominate.”
Gardzielik says that he became familiar with Mielnicki from watching the Coyle fight, but he didn't want to give an opinion on the decision other than to say he thought it was an entertaining fight. He says that he has put in the kind of training camp that will set him up for success in his first fight on American soil.
“I had a perfect camp, a great camp with my coach and my sparring partners,” said Gardzielik, who is rated No. 15 by the WBO at 160lbs. “I have a tough opponent in front of me. But I’m ready. I’ve been training for this moment, and I’m ready to take advantage of this opportunity.”
Knyba, 15-0 (9 KOs), has been building a following in New Jersey in recent years, having moved to Warren from his hometown of Bydgoszcz, Poland, several years ago. Although the 6ft 7ins big man had a more acrimonious relationship with his previous opponent – a Polish fighter named Andrzej Wawrzyk, whom he knocked out in three rounds – Knyba and Siwy are more respectful of each other.
"I’m excited to be in this step-up fight against an undefeated opponent. I know we’re going to put on a show for the fans,” said Knyba, who is trained by Shaun George.
"My opponent has a great record and a ton of experience. He has a lot more experience than I do. This will show that I’m ready.”
Siwy, 25-0-1 (12 KOs), of Czestochowa, Poland, is coming off a draw with Kamil Sokolowski two years ago, and will be making his US debut. He also has a 6ins height deficit and, at 34, is five years older than his opponent.
“There’s no bad blood between us. We’ve seen each other at a couple of shows in Poland. We gave each other a handshake. But that was the extent of it. No bad blood,” said Siwy.
“I came to put on a show. I came to win. And we’re definitely going to give a good fight.”
The card will air live on ESPN+ beginning at 5:30 p.m. ET.
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.