Vito Mielnicki Jr. and Tiger Johnson get slots on the Ryan-Mayer undercard on September 27
Welterweight Vito Mielnicki Jr. (right) poses for 10-year-old Nick DeLomba (Photo by Kate Frese/HBSE)
Vito Mielnicki Jr. Junior middleweight will return to action against undefeated Romanian Daniel Buciuc in a 10-round fight on Friday, September 27, at The Theater at Madison Square Garden.
Melnicki-Buciuc joins an ESPN+ broadcast undercard headlined by a WBO welterweight title fight between incumbent Sandy Ryan and former junior lightweight unification queen Mikaela Mayer.
In the 10-round junior middleweight, Puerto Rican Xander Zayas will face Mexico’s Damian Sosa, Brooklyn native Bruce “Shu Shu” Carrington will open an ESPN-televised tripleheader in the 10-rounder against Sulaiman Segawa . .
Ryan-Mayer, Zayas-Sosa, and Carrington-Segawa will air LIVE on ESPN, ESPN Deportes and ESPN+ at 10:30 pm ET/7:30 pm PT.
Mielnicki (19-1, 13 KOs), a four-time Junior National Golden Gloves champion, became champion in July 2019 at just 17 years old, debuting on the Top Rank card on ESPN in Newark, New Jersey. That night, he registered a knockout in the first round and went 5-0 before graduating high school in 2020. Despite a multiple decision loss to James Martin in his ninth fight, Mielnicki made a remarkable comeback, winning 10 consecutive bouts and claiming three regional titles. Now coaching in Houston with Ronnie Shields, Melnicki began his 2024 campaign with a unanimous decision over Ronald Cruz in May before signing with Top Rank in June. In his last outing, he stopped Laszlo Toth in two rounds, the fight officially ended by disqualification after Toth’s corner entered the ring following a blow. Buciuc (13-1, 5 KOs) has won two fights since losing to Ermal Hadribeaj by decision for the WBC International junior middleweight title.
The ESPN+ undercard will also feature the return of US Olympian Tiger Johnson, who will move up in class to face Puerto Rico’s Yomar Alamo in an eight-round junior welterweight title fight.
Johnson (13-0, 6 KOs) has made two appearances at the Theater this year, stopping Paulo Galdino in one in February before defeating Tarik Zaina by decision in June. Alamo (22-2-1, 13 KOs) knocked out defending world champion Liam Paro in the first round before losing by split decision in December 2021. After a TKO loss to former contender Richardson Hitchins in November 2022, Alamo bounced back this year and carts. over Adriano Porfirio Ramirez in February and Jayson Velez in July.
The Dominican Republic’s two top junior welterweight rivals will also feature 10 different athletes.
Rohan Polanco (13-0, 8 KOs), a Tokyo Olympian, will compete against Argentina’s Marcelino Lopez (37-4-1, 22 KOs). Polanco went 3-0 in 2023 after signing with Top Rank. He handed Zaina his first loss in March before a second round stoppage of Luis Hernandez in June. Lopez enjoyed a five-fight winning streak from 2017 to 2021, including a second-round stoppage against former interim junior welterweight champion Pablo Cesar Cano. He returned in 2023 with decision losses to Orestes Velazquez in March and Zaina in November.
Freddie Roach trained boxer Elvis “The Dominican Kid” Rodriguez (16-1-1,13 KOs) will lock horns with veteran Mexican-American Kendo Castañeda (21-6, 9 KOs). Rodriguez is on a five-fight winning streak, including a decision over Joseph Adorno and a seventh-round TKO of former world champion Viktor Postol. Castañeda has faced the likes of Jose Zepeda, Josue Vargas, and Raul Curiel in a professional career spanning nearly 12 years.
Bantamweight prospect Floyd “Cashflow” Diaz (12-0, 3 KOs) will face Mario Hernandez (12-4-1, 4 KOs) in round eight. Diaz tied the score over Edwin Rodriguez in March and Francisco Pedroza in June.
Top heavyweight Ali Feliz (3-0, 2 KOs), of Danbury, Connecticut, will fight Rashad Coulter (5-4, 3 KOs) in a six-rounder.
A press release by Top Rank was used in this article
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