Vito Mielnicki Jr. is hoping to stir up some momentum as he heads into the most prominent fight of his nascent career.

The 19-year-old welterweight prospect from Roseland, New Jersey is set to appear as the Fox headliner against Nicholas DeLomba (16-3, 5 KOs) at the Prudential Center in nearby Newark on Christmas Day. A significant opportunity for national exposure, the fight is also Mielnicki’s chance to put more distance between him and the first career less he suffered earlier this year.

Mielnicki (9-1, 6 KOs) lost a stunning majority decision against James Martin in April at the Shrine Exposition Center in Los Angeles on the Tony Harrison-Bryant Perrella undercard. He has since bounced back with a second-round stoppage over Noah Kidd; originally, Mielnicki was supposed to fight Martin in a rematch, but Martin showed up way overweight.

Since that time, Mielnicki, a budding local attraction, has amped up his regiment in the gym.  

“I think I definitely sparred a lot more,” Mielnicki said on The PBC Podcast. “I think we got in around 150-160 rounds in eight weeks. Obviously we raised the rounds in sparring. The intensity, just because I’m the main event, went up.

“We’re ready to put on a show.”

Mielnicki, who turned professional in 2019, while he was still in high school, says he was not properly prepared for the Martin bout, a mistake he does not intend to make again.

“The most important thing I think that I’ve learned from the low point in my career is that proper preparation prevents poor performance,” Mielnicki said. “Me going into a fight not prepared before I walked into the ring that night, I already felt defeated because I wasn’t prepared, I wasn’t at my full potential. Coming out of the ring that night, knowing that I couldn’t be the best version of myself, that had to be the worst feeling that I’ve ever felt in the sport of boxing.

“The most important thing for my career is to be prepared for any fight at any moment.”