Seventeen year-old Vito Mielnicki, Jr. isn't your typical boy next door. Borin in 2002, he is a licensed professional boxer who is set to turn professional on July 13th at The Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. Mielnicki is 5'11" and walks around at 172 pounds. He plans to turn pro and settle into the 147 pound division. His story begins in Newark, New Jersey. Mielnicki Jr. found The Jamar Carter Gym that was located in the basement of a church at the age of seven, and he has not looked back. Mielnicki trained at some of the toughest and roughest gyms in New Jersey such Elite Heat and Boylan Rec, both in Newark. Mielnicki began his amateur career fighting against the best fighters from Philadelphia, Washington, D.C. and Baltimore at the Upton Boxing Gym in Baltimore and he was a frequent travel partner with current WBA champion Gervonta Davis, Otha Jones III and Olympic Silver Medal winner Shakur Stevenson.
Mielnicki continued to grow his national rankings as he moved up in weight. His amatuer record reads an astonishing 147-22 and he was the four-time Junior National Golden Gloves champion (2011, 2012, 2014 and 2015). In the 2011 he was named the Most Outstanding Boxer in the tournament.
He was a Silver Gloves National champion in 2015 & 2016; Ringside World Champion in 2012 and 2014; United States Junior National Champion in 2017 - 2018 and was a member of the High Performance USA National Team for 2017 - 2018 in the welterweight division.
He won his first National Championship and was trained by Walli Moses. In his young career, Mielnicki has alos worked with Hall of famers Virgil Hill and Buddy McGirt. "He has a very bright future, and he is a great kid. The sky is the limit for Vito," said McGirt.
Hill said, "He is a humble young athlete, who is a phenomenal athlete, he was a football player when he was younger. He will be an outstanding professional boxer."
Mielnicki has competed all over the world in places such as Canada, Serbia, Spain, England, and Puerto Rico. He compiled an international record of 10-2 and won the Quebec Cup in 2015.
The decision to go to the paid ranks was solidified after a great performance in Spain for which Mielnicki was on the short and undeserved end of a bad decision. "I believe my performance in Spain was one of the best I have had, and I could not get a decision. I feel that I have a professional style, and based on some of these decisions, I can see that it is more for the pros then the amateurs," said Mielnicki
Mielnicki has continued to grow, and he feels the time is right to begin his career. "My body is maturing, and it was only a matter of time anyway. I had my mind pretty much made up before we went to Spain, but that fight solidified it."
Mielnicki has had the opportunity to measure himself against some emerging professionals. "I think that has been big for me. I have worked with the likes of Adam Lopez and Thomas Mattice, and that has definitely helped me. I have been wanting to turn professional for a long time. This has been a goal and dream for me, and I know that I can do big things. I have to see where my debut will happen. We are looking to see under which promotional banner and on what card this will happen, but I know when I do fight in New Jersey, I will be very popular and will have a tremendous amount of support."
That will come right off the bat, as Mielnicki will become the youngest ever fighter licensed in the Garden State when he makes that pro debut on July 13th at The Prudential Center in Newark., which is just a stones throw away from his home in Roseland.
Mielnicki is trained by Dwyke Flemmings and Muhammad Salaam. His cutman will be Danny Milano and Strength and Conditioning coach is Fred Caruso.
