Vito Mielnicki Jr. is used to this by now. When most people his age across the country will be feeding their faces on Thursday during the Thanksgiving Day holiday, Mielnicki will be monitoring his weight for the biggest test of his young career, 28-year-old Alexis Salazar in a 10-round junior middleweight fight on the David Benavidez-Demetrius Andrade undercard this Saturday on Showtime Pay-Per-View (8 p.m. ET/ 5 p.m. PT) from the Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino in Las Vegas.

It’s sometimes hard to believe that the 21-year-old Mielnicki (15-1, 10 knockouts) has been a pro for four years now. In Salazar (25-5, 10 KOs), he will be facing someone who has lost two of his last four fights, though those setbacks came from Carlos Adames and rising prospect Xander Zayas.

This will be Mielnicki’s first fight with his new trainer, the esteemed Ronnie Shields.

“Salazar is my toughest test, because he’s been in the ring with a lot of tough guys, and he has made good fights out of all of them,” Mielnicki said. “I know he is trained by the Hall of Fame trainer Freddie Roach out of the Wild Card Gym, so you know he is going to be coming to fight and come ready. I’m excited for the challenge. This fight I know will bring the best of me out.”

Mielnicki has been training with Shields and Jermall Charlo for the last three months. Mielnicki got some work in with Charlo, who returns to the ring after a two-year absence on the David Benavidez-Demetrius Andrade undercard in a 10-round middleweight fight against Jose Benavidez Jr.

“I did over 100 rounds with Charlo, so by the time we got to the end of camp, it was like a chess match,” Mielnicki said. “I learned so much from him. He’s a great guy. I know he may project this villain image to the media, but in real life, he’s a real genuine guy who took me in. He’s down to earth. He has a great family. He’s good people. I can’t say enough good things about how he treated me. We sparred at his house. He’s really a great guy. I was always a fan. I’ve become a bigger fan of Jermall’s. He helped me prepare for this fight.

“Being able to share the ring with someone like him, it was great work. I think the best advice he gave was stay true to myself throughout the ups and downs.”

Mielnicki was originally trained by Walli Moses as an amateur, then Muhammad Salaam in the early stages of his pro career, he has had Hall of Famer Joe Goossen as a trainer, then Chino Rivas most recently and now future hall of famer Shields.

“I still have a relationship with everyone, and we got in contact with Ronnie and we wanted to raise our level of sparring with Jermall and working with a quality trainer like Ronnie,” Mielnicki said. “I feel like I’m taking a lot from the best and making that into the best Vito Mielnicki I can be. Everyone I’ve worked with has helped me improve. They add to what I’ve had, and I absorb this knowledge like a sponge and add that to the recipe.

“My goal is to keep improving every time I’m in the ring. Looking at my last fight, I liked how I was patient. I sat on my shots well and I liked my game plan. I want to keep my defense sharp. This guy is my toughest fight. People ask me what my favorite fight is and I always say the fight I lost because I learned so much from it.”

Salazar most recently stopped David Rangel in five in June, coming back after an eight-round decision loss to the undefeated Zayas in December 2022. Salazar has only been stopped once, by Adames.

“My focus right now is on me and what I have to do,” Mielnicki said. “When I fight, I’m not just fighting for myself. I’m fighting for my family. That’s my purpose. I know the sacrifices they have made, like this weekend. I fought Christmas day and I’ve missed holidays, birthdays, and I always say it isn’t a sacrifice if you’re doing what you love. I’ll get home (in Roseland, N.J.) early on Sunday. I’m thankful for my family. I couldn’t be more grateful to them. We are going to sit down and having a Thanksgiving dinner. I know I want to sit down as a winner.”

Joseph Santoliquito is hall of fame, award-winning sportswriter who has been working for Ring Magazine/RingTV.com since October 1997 and is the president of the Boxing Writers Association of America.
Follow @JSantoliquito

READ THE LATEST ISSUE OF THE RING FOR FREE VIA THE NEW APP NOW. SUBSCRIBE NOW TO ACCESS MORE THAN 10 YEARS OF BACK ISSUES.