Vito Mielnicki Jnr will return to his home state of New Jersey for a headlining fight on June 21.

The 22-year-old middleweight from Roseland, New Jersey, will face unbeaten Polish fighter Kamil Gardzielik at Prudential Center in nearby Newark. The news was first reported by The Ring’s Keith Idec. 

The fight will stream live on ESPN+, though the card will be promoted by Rising Star Promotions in association with Top Rank, which promotes Mielnicki, a Prudential Center source confirmed to BoxingScene.

Prudential Center is the home arena for the National Hockey League’s New Jersey Devils. The fight will be the fourth at the venue for Mielnicki Jnr, who turned pro there as a 17-year-old in 2019.

Mielnicki Jnr, 20-1-1 (12 KOs), will be fighting for the first time since his draw with Connor Coyle in February at The Theater at Madison Square Garden. Mielnicki is now based in Houston, Texas, where he trains under Ronnie Shields.

Gardzielik, 19-0 (4 KOs), a 32-year-old from Warsaw, Poland, will be fighting for the first time in the United States after a career exclusively in his home country. Gardzielik last fought in November, winning a majority decision over the 4-14 Lukasz Barabasz in a six-round fight.

Calls to Mielnicki Jnr seeking comment were not immediately responded to.

Newark has historically attracted sizable crowds for Polish fighters.

The rest of the card is expected to feature another one of Top Rank’s prospects, Polish heavyweight Damian Knyba, 15-0 (9 KOs), in the co-main event. He will face Norman Neely, 15-1 (10 KOs), of Paterson, New Jersey. 

The two fighters should be familiar with one another, as they both train out of True Warriors Boxing Club in Paterson under different coaches. The 29-year-old Knyba, who now resides in Warren, New Jersey, headlined the last boxing event at Prudential Center on February 1, stopping fellow Polish big man Andrzej Wawrzyk in three rounds.

“I think it’s a good local matchup,” Knyba’s manager, Lukasz Kownacki, told BoxingScene. “They’re at similar points in their career where they’re both trying to step up to the next level. I think it’ll be a great fight.” 

Also slated for the card is Lorenzo “Truck” Simpson, 15-2 (9 KOs), of Baltimore, Maryland, who is promoted by Mielnicki Snr, plus former U.S. national team member Emmanuel Chance of nearby East Orange, New Jersey.

Editor's note: The story has been updated to state that the show will be promoted by Rising Star Promotions, and not GH3 Promotions.

Ryan Songalia is a reporter and editor for BoxingScene.com and has written for ESPN, the New York Daily News, Rappler, The Guardian, Vice and The Ring magazine. He holds a Master’s degree in Journalism from the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism and is a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America. He can be reached at ryansongalia@gmail.com or on Twitter at @ryansongalia.