Vito Mielnicki Jr.-Limberth Ponce Added To Wilder-Helenius Undercard October 15
BY
KEITH IDEC
Published Wed Sep 07, 2022, 11:22 AM EDT
Vito Mielnicki Jr. will try to extend his winning streak to five when he returns to the ring October 15 in Brooklyn.
BoxingScene.com has learned that the 20-year-old junior middleweight will meet Limberth Ponce that night on the Deontay Wilder-Robert Helenius undercard at Barclays Center. FS1 likely will televise the 10-round bout between Mielnicki and Ponce before the FOX Sports Pay-Per-View portion of the Wilder-Helenius undercard begins.
Mielnicki (12-1, 8 KOs) has won four fights in a row since Philadelphia’s James Martin (then 6-2) upset him by majority decision in an eight-round fight FS1 aired in April 2021 from Shrine Auditorium & Expo Hall in Los Angeles. The Roseland, New Jersey native most recently stopped veteran Jimmy Williams (18-9-2, 6 KOs) in the sixth round of an eight-rounder on the Danny Garcia-Jose Benavidez Jr. undercard July 30 at Barclays Center.
Mielnicki wanted to avenge his loss to Martin in an immediate rematch that was supposed to take place 13 months ago at Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. Martin came in 4½ pounds over the contracted limit for what was supposed to be a welterweight fight, though, and Mielnicki instead stopped Noah Kidd (then 6-3-2) in the second round of a fight FOX televised in July 2021.
Another young fighter affiliated with Premier Boxing Champions, Joey Spencer, beat Martin by unanimous decision in an eight-round junior middleweight match the night Martin was supposed to meet Mielnicki again.
Ponce (19-5, 11 KOs), of Rock Island, Illinois, was knocked out in the fifth round by Spencer (16-0, 10 KOs) last December 25 at Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. The 31-year-old Mexican veteran bounced back from his loss to Spencer by defeating Ramiro Hernandez (3-2, 1 KO) unanimously in his most recent action, a six-rounder May 6 in Davenport, Iowa.
Wilder, meanwhile, will fight for the first time in more than a year by the time he faces Finland’s Helenius. The former WBC heavyweight champion from Tuscaloosa, Alabama hasn’t boxed since England’s Tyson Fury viciously knocked him out in the 11th round of their third title fight last October 9 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
Helenius (31-3, 20 KOs) hasn’t fought since last October 9, either. He stopped Brooklyn’s Adam Kownacki (20-3, 15 KOs) in the sixth round of their rematch on the undercard when Wilder (42-2-1, 41 KOs) fought Fury (32-0-1, 23 KOs) a third time.