Junior middleweight prospect Vito Mielnicki Jr. will make a quick turnaround after his first-round knockout win this past weekend, facing former title challenger Salim Larbi on December 29 at the Prudential Center in Newark, N.J.

The 21-year-old Mielnicki (16-1, 11 knockouts) of nearby Roseland, N.J. became just the second fighter to stop the durable Alexis Salazar on the Benavidez-Andrade card this past Saturday in Las Vegas, dropping him three times to win his eighth straight fight.

The Algerian-French Larbi (22-12-3, 8 KOs) of Rahway, N.J. by way of Cambrai, France had his highest profile bout in 2012 when he was knocked out in seven rounds by Lukas Konecny for the WBO junior middleweight title. He last fought this past March, losing a unanimous decision to Thomas LaManna in Orlando. His biggest wins include a second-round stoppage of Patrice Sou Toke (17-2), plus unanimous decision wins over Isaac Selom (14-4-1) and Davit Makradze (16-4).

“We are training really hard for this fight, the body is sharp, and the mind is too,” said the 36-year-old Larbi, who trains with Carlos Solano out of Brunswick Boxing Stars in New Brunswick, N.J.

“I can’t wait be in the ring December 29th, it will be spectacular night.”

The fight will be part of the launch of Brick City Friday Night Fights, a multi-event series presented by GH3 Promotions and Prudential Center which will continue in 2024.

A number of other New Jersey based boxers will fill out the rest of the card, including Michael “Slick” Anderson of Newark (23-3-1, 17 KOs) taking on Eudy Bernardo (25-6, 18 KOs) of Elias Pina, Dominican Republic in a ten-round welterweight bout, plus the aforementioned middleweight LaManna (36-5-1, 15 KOs) of Millville, N.J. against Nicolas Hernandez (27-7-3, 12 KOs) of Reading, Pa. in a ten-round bout.

Other fighters in action include heavyweight Kristian Prenga (14-1, 14 KOs) of Edgewater, N.J. by way of Orosh, Albania againstAhmed Hefney (13-3, 5 KOs) of Alexandria, Egypt in an eight rounder, plus Anthony Johns (6-1, 5 KOs), Dwyke Flemmings Jr. (4-0, 4 KOs) and others.

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