By: Hans Themistode
It wasn’t what normally happens.
In the early stages of a prospect’s career, they’re matched relatively lightly against fighters that more times than not, are meant to make them look good. Yet, once welterweight contender Vito Mielnicki (9-1, 5 KOs) suffered the first defeat of his career in his last ring appearance against who many believed was a no-hoper in James Martin, the New Jersey needed a major reset.
In an effort to right the ship, Mielnicki attempted to get Martin back into the ring in an immediate rematch. Everything appeared to be on track for the two to do it again, that is, until Martin stepped onto the scale’s weighing 4.5 pounds over the welterweight limit. Martin was immediately removed from their contest and Noah Kidd (6-4-2, 5 KOs) stepped in on roughly 24 hours’ notice.
With a chance to impress in front of his hometown crowd, and get himself back on track, Mielnicki didn’t disappoint.
After a fairly energetic opening round from Kidd in the first few seconds, Mielnicki settled in. He boxed and moved on the outside, while patiently waiting for his man to make a mistake. That, of course, didn’t take long. Mielnicki dropped his man with a clean left hook.
To the credit of Kidd, he managed to make it back to his feet. He then attempted to grab and hold. His tactics worked as he managed to escape to the second round. Completely uninterested in having a long night, Mielnicki sent his man to the canvas again early in the second.
Once again, Kidd crawled back to his feet but this time around, he appeared to be in worse shape. He attempted to grab and hold, just as he did in the opening round. However, Mielnicki pushed his man and went on the attack, sending the journeymen to the deck once again. From there, Mielnicki’s night came to an end as the referee called an immediate halt to their matchup.
Following the win, Mielnicki expressed his fruitions with Martin and his failure to make weight. Rather than seeking another rematch, Mielnicki stated that he was moving forward in his career and declared Martain and inconsequential fighter to his future success.
