NEWARK, N.J. — Vito Mielnicki Jr. delivered a statement performance in front of his home-state fans Friday night, turning a highly anticipated middleweight showdown into a one-sided unanimous-decision victory over former world title challenger Austin “Ammo” Williams at Prudential Center.
Mielnicki controlled the fight from the opening bell and earned identical 98-91 scores from all three judges, improving his record to 24-1 with 13 knockouts. Williams dropped to 20-3 with 13 knockouts.
The 24-year-old Roseland native entered the bout knowing he was facing the toughest test of his career. Williams, 30, of Houston, had previously challenged Carlos Adames for the WBC middleweight championship and went 11 rounds against Hamzah Sheeraz, the reigning WBO super middleweight champion.
Williams also entered the bout ranked inside the top 10 by both the WBO and WBC, while Mielnicki was positioned among the top contenders across all four major sanctioning bodies.
Those credentials, however, didn’t translate into success inside the ring.
Mielnicki immediately established his superiority, dropping Williams in the opening round with a sharp counter combination. After Williams launched a left hand, Mielnicki answered with a right followed by a left that sent his opponent to the canvas.
From there, Mielnicki maintained the pressure and consistently found his target throughout the early and middle rounds.
Williams attempted to change the momentum in the seventh and eighth rounds, mounting his strongest stretch of the fight. Mielnicki absorbed the challenge and finished strongly over the final two rounds, putting the fight firmly beyond doubt despite suffering a bloody nose.
The victory was particularly meaningful given Mielnicki’s history at Prudential Center.
Friday marked his sixth professional appearance at the Newark arena, where he made his debut at just 17 years old in July 2019. It was also his first bout since joining Matchroom Boxing, which promotes him alongside Boxlab Promotions.
Mielnicki has now won 16 consecutive fights since suffering the only loss of his professional career, a majority-decision defeat to James Martin in 2021.
With the victory, Mielnicki further strengthened his standing in a crowded middleweight division. He entered the weekend ranked as high as No. 3 by the WBO and now has another high-profile win to add to his résumé.
Moses Makes Newark Debut a Memorable One
Mielnicki wasn’t the only New Jersey fighter celebrating Friday night.
Newark’s own Zaquin Moses gave the hometown crowd another reason to cheer, stopping Angel Antonio Contreras after five rounds of their scheduled eight-round junior lightweight bout.
The victory kept Moses unbeaten at 8-0 with four knockouts and marked several important milestones for the 21-year-old southpaw.
It was Moses’ first professional fight in Newark and his first scheduled eight-round contest.
Moses, who is a cousin of three-division world champion Shakur Stevenson, turned professional in November 2024 following a successful amateur career. Since then, he has quickly developed into one of Matchroom Boxing’s promising young prospects.
The Newark native had already competed twice in six-round bouts during 2026. Against Contreras, he successfully made the transition to the longer distance before forcing the stoppage at the end of the fifth.
Newark Takes Center Stage
The victories by Mielnicki and Moses gave Matchroom Boxing’s first event at Prudential Center a strong local identity.
For Mielnicki, the night represented another important step toward a potential world title opportunity. For Moses, it was an opportunity to introduce himself to his hometown crowd on the professional stage.
Both fighters delivered.
The card was televised in the United States across TNT, truTV and DAZN, giving the two New Jersey prospects a national platform while showcasing the growing boxing talent coming out of the Garden State.
