THE FEBRUARY 14 fight between Vito Mielnicki Jr and Connor Coyle has officially had its result overturned.
Originally, their 10-round middleweight bout at the Madison Square Garden Theater in New York ended in a majority draw, with scores of 96-94 (Tom Carusone), 95-95 (Ken Ezzo), and 95-95 (Kevin Morgan). Following an investigation by the New York State Athletic Commission, however, the bout has now been ruled a No Contest.
Mielnicki Jr revealed the commission’s decision in a post on social media, sharing the letter he received. The document stated that a “formal settlement” had been reached after Coyle agreed to the result being changed, having failed a post-fight drug test. The 35-year-old Northern Irishman has since been suspended, though the length of his ban has not been disclosed.
Writing on X late last night (August 18), Mielnicki said:
“Connor Coyle suspended indefinitely for failed drug test. Cheated the sport, cheated yourself and STILL couldn’t beat me. Was a majority draw on paper (idk how) but still wasn’t on my level. Respect the sport, real fighters don’t need shortcuts.”
As a result of the ruling, Mielnicki’s record improves to 21-1 (12 KOs), while Coyle still carries an official unbeaten ledger of 21-0 (9 KOs).
Mielnicki, who was making his middleweight debut against Coyle, has since gone on to claim his first win at 160 pounds, outpointing previously unbeaten Kamil Gardzielik over 10 rounds on June 21.
That same night, Galal Yafai suffered a punishing defeat to Francisco Rodriguez Jr in their WBC Interim flyweight title fight, being dropped in the 12th round. Yet just 18 days later it emerged that Rodriguez had returned an “adverse analytical finding” in a doping test from the Yafai bout.
Even more damaging was the revelation that Rodriguez had also failed a test following his previous fight. The WBC initially placed him on 12 months’ probation and called for an immediate rematch but have since restored Yafai as Interim champion. The sanctioning body has now ordered full champion Ricardo Sandoval – who recently beat Kenshiro Teraji to claim the title – to defend against Yafai.
