VITO Mielnicki Jr and Connor Coyle engaged in 10 rounds of exciting action on the Berinchyk-Davis undercard that ended in a majority draw at middleweight. One judge had it 96-94 in favour of Mielnicki Jr, overruled by a couple of 95-95 cards.
Coyle took the centre ring early, but Mielnicki had pushed him back by the close of the opener. Coyle backed up even further through the third round as Mielnicki’s right hand came into play. Things got rough in the fourth round as Coyle briefly buzzed Mielnicki with blood seeping from the Derry man’s left eye.
A Mielnicki right uppercut had caused the slice, causing even greater urgency for the Irish visitor. Coyle’s output dropped as he landed only a single punch in each of the fifth and sixth rounds. Coyle’s nose bled by the eighth, courtesy of Vito’s thumping left jab. The eye was holding up at this point, but not for long.
12 years older at 34, Coyle found the uppercut again in the ninth as the left eye finally re-opened. “We need a big round,” Ronnie Shields told his young charge, Mielnicki, having his first fight at middleweight.
Mielnicki, 20-1-1 (12 KOs), wasn’t afraid to mix things up with a few dirty moves when required. The young man from Roseland, New Jersey, closed out strong in the 10th and final round and he looked deflated at the announcement, likely believing that he had done more clean work down the stretch. Coyle can be proud of his efforts, moving to 21-0-1 (9 KOs).
