Vito Mielnicki Jr. and Tiger Johnson get slots in Ryan-Mayer undercard on Sept. 27
Junior middleweight prospect Vito Mielnicki Jr. will return to action against once-beaten Romanian Daniel Buciuc in a 10-round battle on Friday, Sept. 27, at The Theater at Madison Square Garden.
Mielnicki-Buciuc joins an ESPN+-streamed undercard headlined by the WBO welterweight title clash between reigning champ Sandy Ryan and former unified junior lightweight queen Mikaela Mayer.
In the 10-round junior middleweight co-feature, Puerto Rican contender Xander Zayas will take on Mexican contender Damian Sosa, and Brooklyn-born featherweight Bruce “Shu Shu” Carrington will open the ESPN-televised tripleheader in a 10-rounder versus Sulaiman Segawa.
Ryan-Mayer, Zayas-Sosa, and Carrington-Segawa will be broadcast LIVE on ESPN, ESPN Deportes and ESPN+ at 10:30 p.m. ET/7:30 p.m. PT.
Mielnicki (19-1, 13 KOs), a four-time Junior National Golden Gloves champion, turned pro in July 2019 at just 17 years old, debuting on a Top Rank on ESPN card in Newark, New Jersey. That night, he registered a first-round knockout and went 5-0 before graduating high school in 2020. Despite a majority decision defeat to James Martin in his ninth fight, Mielnicki rebounded impressively, winning 10 consecutive bouts and claiming three regional titles. Now training in Houston with Ronnie Shields, Mielnicki 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, with the fight officially ending via disqualification after Toth’s corner entered the ring following a knockdown. Buciuc (13-1, 5 KOs) has won a pair of bouts since losing to Ermal Hadribeaj by decision in a bid for the WBC International junior middleweight title.
The ESPN+-streamed undercard will also feature the return of U.S. Olympian Tiger Johnson, who will step up in class to face Puerto Rico’s Yomar Alamo in an eight-round junior welterweight clash.
Johnson (13-0, 6 KOs) has made two appearances at The Theater this year, stopping Paulo Galdino in one in February before besting Tarik Zaina by decision in June. Alamo (22-2-1, 13 KOs) dropped eventual world champion Liam Paro in the first round before losing a split decision in December 2021. After a TKO loss to top contender Richardson Hitchins in November 2022, Alamo came back this year with victories over Adriano Porfirio Ramirez in February and Jayson Velez in July.
Two of the Dominican Republic’s top junior welterweight contenders will also see action in separate 10-rounders.
Rohan Polanco (13-0, 8 KOs), a Tokyo Olympian, will square off 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 pro loss in March before a second-round stoppage of Luis Hernandez in June. Lopez enjoyed a five-fight knockout 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 puncher Elvis “The Dominican Kid” Rodriguez (16-1-1,13 KOs) will lock horns with Mexican American veteran Kendo Castañeda (21-6, 9 KOs). Rodriguez is on an impressive 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 pro career spanning nearly 12 years.
Bantamweight prospect Floyd “Cashflow” Diaz (12-0, 3 KOs) will take on Mario Hernandez (12-4-1, 4 KOs) in an eight-rounder. Diaz tallied points verdicts over Edwin Rodriguez in March and Francisco Pedroza in June.
Top heavyweight prospect Ali Feliz (3-0, 2 KOs), from 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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