ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. — Vito Mielnicki Jnr scored his third straight win over an undefeated fighter on Saturday, dominating Omar Huerta en route to a unanimous decision win at Boardwalk Hall.
The scores were 100-90 on two cards and 99-91 on the third, all to Mielnicki, 23, of Roseland, N.J., who improved to 23-1 (13 KOs). Huerta, fighting outside of Mexico for the first time, dropped to 15-1-1 (13 KOs).
The win, which was Mielnicki’s first since signing with promoter Sampson Lewkowicz, headlined a ProBox TV card.
Mielnicki pressured the taller southpaw from the outset as Huerta passively moved around the ring, rarely responding to Mielnicki’s combinations beyond throwing a one-two after the fact.
Mielnicki found a consistent weapon with his left uppercut after the right hand, getting under the lead hand – using the same strategy that Oscar de la Hoya once used to connect on Hector Camacho decades back. With the fight slipping away, Huerta finally began to let his hands go more in the fourth and fifth, not winning rounds but becoming more a part of them.
Huerta looked to have found something in the sixth as he landed a pair of solid left hands on Mielnicki as he came forward. Mielnicki also found something in the form of Huerta’s protective cup, drawing two warnings from the referee in the round. The warnings didn’t discourage Mielnicki from going to the body, and might have encouraged him to do so, as Mielnicki insisted the second low blow was a legal punch. Mielnicki punctuated the round with a right hand along the ropes.
The body work from Mielnicki began to show its effects in the seventh, as Huerta looked to hold in close in an attempt to slow down Mielnicki, who mixed in the classic Tyson uppercut combination to the body and head. Mielnicki continued to pressure in first gear, and Huerta celebrated at the final bell as if he had scored the upset of the year, suggesting he may not have a future career as a judge awaiting him.
The story of the fight was told in the punch-stat numbers. Mielnicki landed nearly three times as many punches, 175 to 60, while throwing over 300 more, 699 to 385.
The fight was Mielnicki’s first in Atlantic City, a surprising stat considering that he has been the state’s biggest local draw in recent years. He is rated No. 5 by the WBO at 160lbs, plus No. 9 by the IBF and WBC. Mielnicki’s rankings may continue to rise, as he added a WBC regional belt with the win over Huerta.
Prior to this bout, Mielnicki shut out the 19-0 Kamil Gardzielik last June and stopped the 21-0 Samuel Nmomah in nine rounds in November.