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Vito Mielnicki
Sport: Boxing
Born: May 9, 2002
Town: Roseland
Vito Mielnicki Jr. was born May 9, 2002 in Roseland. His father was a sports promoter who founded GH3 Promotions in 2010. Vito was strong, quick and loved contact sports. He played youth football for many years, and became interested in boxing around the age of 7. He began training at the Jamar Carter Gym in Newark, and worked his way through Elite Heat and Boylan Rec as he became one of the region’s top young amateur fighters. Along the way he developed friendships with Shakur Stevenson and Gervonta Davis, who went on to achieve international success. His trainers included Buddy McGirt, Virgil Hill and Walli Moses.
Vito won his first National Junior Gold Gloves championship (at the age of 9) in 2011 and was named the top boxer in the tournament. He won the event again in 2012, 2014 and 2015. In 2018, he was the US national welterweight champion. He was just a sophomore at West Essex High School in North Caldwell.
At the age of 17, Vito stood 5’11” and tipped the scales at just under 150 pounds. His skills sharpened and his body mature, he decided to turn pro after 147 amateur victories. The decision came in part because he would be too young to qualify for the 2020 Olympics. Vito got the thumbs-up from the NJ Boxing Commission and he entered the ring at the Prudential Center as a professional for the first time on July 13, 2019. He scored a knockout against Tamarcus Smith in 76 seconds. He won his next two fights by KO, too.
In 2020, Vito earned his first decision in a bout held in Philadelphia, which went the full distance at four rounds. He won his next fight, in Las Vegas, against Corey Champion as part of a pay-per-view card. Champion had lost his previous fight to another high-school senior, Xander Zayas of Puerto Rico.
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