After a pair of disappointing outings, Vito Mielnicki Jnr found something to be happy about at home.

The 23-year-old middleweight Mielnicki scored a convincing victory Saturday over previously unbeaten Polish fighter Kamil Gardzielik, winning a unanimous decision at Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey.

Mielnicki, 21-1-1 (10 KOs), of Roseland, New Jersey, pitched a 10-round shutout on all three cards, 100-89, to scoop up a number of vacant regional belts. The win was the first convincing win for Mielnicki in a year, following his disappointing draw against Connor Coyle in February, and his too-close-for-comfort majority decision against Khalil El Harraz, which convinced Mielnicki to move up from junior middleweight after years of struggling to make the weight.

Gardzielik, 19-1 (4 KOs), of Warsaw, Poland, lost for the first time in his nine-year pro career.

Though Gardzielik entered the fight undefeated with a deep international amateur background, it was Mielnicki’s skill set that shone through early on, as he popped his jab and used angles to set up punches in the first round. Mielnicki scored the bout’s only knockdown in the third, when a double right hand put the switch-hitting Gardzielik on the seat of his pants a minute into the round. Gardzielik beat the count but absorbed damage to the body later in the round.

Gardzielik’s poor balance began to play a factor in the fourth round as Mielnicki took advantage of him falling in after punching to land counter hooks. Another right hand as Gardzielik came forward knocked his head back, but Gardzielik was able to take that shot better than the ones he took a round earlier.

As the rounds went on and Gardzielik showed he could take the punches and fire back, Mielnicki adjusted to boxing off his back foot, scoring with his jab and piling up points.

In a middleweight crossroads fight, Jahi Tucker took a big step forward at the expense of Lorenzo “Truck” Simpson, outboxing the Baltimore native to a unanimous decision win in their 10-round bout.

In a fight preceded by social media animosity, Tucker, 15-1-1 (6 KOs), used superior boxing and angles to befuddle his southpaw opponent, winning by scores of 96-94 on one card and 97-93 on the other two. The victory provided much-needed momentum for the prospect from Deer Park, New York, who has won five straight since moving to middleweight after a decision loss to Nicklaus Flaz and a draw to Francisco Veron, both at junior middleweight.

The loss is the third in five bouts for Simpson, 15-3 (9 KOs).

Despite the pre-fight acrimony, both fighters hugged it out at the final bell.

When Damian Knyba got serious about scoring the stoppage, the stoppage was there to be had.

The New Jersey-based big man from Poland scored the most significant victory of his career, stopping fellow unbeaten Polish heavyweight Marcin Siwy after the eighth round of their 10-round bout.

Knyba, a 6ft 7ins fighter from Bydgoszcz, Poland, began to listen to the advice of trainer Shaun George to train his offense on the midsection, which opened up more right-hand opportunities over the top on Siwy, forcing him to remain on his stool.

Knyba, 16-0 (10 KOs), had to overcome a measure of adversity early on, sustaining a cut in the second round. Knyba opened up a cut over Siwy’s left eye in the sixth, which was more consequential.

Brandun Lee shook off nearly a year of ring rust, shutting out Elias Damian Araujo over eight rounds in a junior welterweight bout. Lee, 30-0 (23 KOs), of Yuba City, California, earned the victory on all the cards by the scores of 80-72, sending Araujo, 22-6 (9 KOs), to his fourth loss in his past five fights.

Earlier in the night, Norman Neely, 16-1 (11 KOs), scored his biggest victory to date, stopping James Willis, 6-2-1 (5 KOs), at 2 minutes, 8 seconds of the first round of their six-round heavyweight fight. After a competitive start in which Willis landed powerful overhand rights early on, Neely’s superior power made the ultimate impression, rocking Willis with a series of right hands that popped his head up and rocked him along the ropes, forcing the stoppage.

In the card’s opening bout, Jamar Talley, a former Team USA boxer, improved to 3-0 (3 KOs) to begin his career, stopping Kurt Fleming, 3-1 (2 KOs), in the second round of their cruiserweight bout. Talley, 25, of Camden, New Jersey, was making his homecoming after beginning his career with two wins in Nebraska.

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.