Saturday night in Atlantic City, NJ, will be a homecoming for middleweight contender Vito Mielnicki Jr. as he moves closer to his first world title shot. Standing in his way is his opponent on Saturday, the undefeated Omar Ulises Huerta (15-0-1, 13 KOs), who likely shares the same goal and will be fighting in front of an American crowd for the first time in his pro career. With things falling into place, Mielnicki feels confident that his current position in life and his team will help him succeed, but everything begins with Saturday night’s fight.
The 23-year-old Mielnicki (22-1, 13 KOs) from Belleville, NJ, has been a pro since July 2019. Although he has been associated with some of the biggest promoters in boxing, things didn’t always work out for him for various reasons. Nonetheless, he kept his head down and kept pushing forward. Last year, Mielnicki had three fights, with the first resulting in a no-contest and the other two being wins. After each fight, he would take time off from boxing to refocus, which often meant taking a vacation.
“Life has been good,” Mielnicki told FightsATW. “The time I’m not in Texas, I’m training in New Jersey and spending time with my family, my girl, and my dog—just a lot of family time. It’s the first time in a while that I got to enjoy the holidays. I went to Greece, took a few vacations, and went on a cruise. So, in between fights, I was just trying to get away for a little bit. When you come back from a fight, you have to get away and reset a little bit, then get right back to work. Those trips are needed when you put your body through the wringer like us fighters do.”
After his third fight, Mielnicki announced on social media that he signed with Sampson Boxing. He believed this move was the best for his career and would take him to the next level.
“Sampson is an old school promoter,” said Mielnicki. “I like how he is very behind the scenes. You don’t really see his name on billboards, but you know he is doing his job behind the scenes, putting his fighters in place and in position as long as they are doing their job. I’ve known Sampson my whole life since I’ve been boxing. Being with someone I can depend on and trust, who’s had great success in boxing and takes care of his fighters, really it was a no-brainer.”
Now with a new promoter and veteran trainer Ronnie Shields backing him, Mielnicki is ready to dominate the middleweight division. “My body feels great at 160. I’ve really grown into 160,” said Mielnicki. On Saturday night, Mielnicki will face Huerta, a natural southpaw—a look Mielnicki hasn’t faced in quite some time.
“This will be my first full-fledged southpaw that I will be fighting since my fourth or fifth fight,” Mielnicki said. “I just want to showcase more of my boxing ability. People have seen what I can do, but I know I have so much more in the tank.
“Expect a dominant performance from me. Expect growth and excitement. I want people to really enjoy themselves.”
With the middleweight division lacking depth, Mielnicki can capitalize on that and establish himself if he keeps delivering dominant performances. Saturday’s fight is a significant step for him as Mielnicki, ranked #5 with the WBO, gets closer to a world title opportunity.
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