Junior middleweight contender Vito Mielnicki Jr. has signed a long-term promotional contract with Top Rank.
Mielnicki, a native of Roseland, New Jersey, is ranked No. 4 by the WBA. His contract was announced Thursday at the final press conference of a fight card headlined by fellow junior middleweight rising star Xander Zayas.
The date for Mielnicki’s Top Rank debut will be announced soon.
“Vito is a young man of exceptional talent and character who has been on our radar since his amateur days. We are pleased that he has decided to sign with Top Rank and believe he has all the attributes necessary to be a world champion,” Top Rank Chairman Bob Arum said.
“I feel incredibly fortunate and grateful to have signed with Top Rank, one of the greatest promotional companies of all time. This is the beginning of a new chapter in my story,” said Mielnicki. “I'm excited to continue to grow and blossom as a fighter and look forward to staying in action and building on the foundation I've built early in my career. I'd like to thank everyone who has been a part of my journey so far.”
Mielnicki (18-1, 12 KOs) trained with Gervonta Davis and Shakur Stevenson as an amateur and was a four-time U.S. Junior Golden Gloves champion. The then-17-year-old turned pro in July 2019 on an ESPN Top Rank card headlined by Stevenson at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. Mielnicki scored a first-round knockout at that event and went 5-0 as a pro before graduating from West Essex High School in 2020. Mielnicki experienced just one professional obstacle, a majority decision loss to James Martin in his ninth professional bout.
Since his loss to Martin, Mielnicki has won 10 fights and three region titles and is now in Houston trained by Ronnie Shields, who has previously trained Evander Holyfield, Mike Tyson and Pernell Whittaker.
Mielnicki, who has sparred dozens of rounds with former middleweight world champion Jermall Charlo, won a lopsided unanimous decision over Ronald Cruz on May 4 on the undercard of the Saul “Canelo” Alvarez vs. Jaime Munguia fight.
