Mielnicki dominates Williams as Garcia drops Chaves four times in Newark upset

Vito Mielnicki Jr secured the biggest win of his career on Friday night, dropping and outpointing Austin “Ammo” Williams in the middleweight co-feature at Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. Earlier on the Andy Ruiz-Damian Knyba undercard, Eridson Garcia produced a major lightweight upset by flooring Alan Chaves four times on the way to a wide unanimous decision.

Mielnicki, fighting close to home, made a bout that looked evenly matched on paper largely one-sided. Judges Lynne Carter, Mark Consentino and Steve Weisfeld all scored it 98-91 for the Belleville fighter, who improved to 24-1 with his ninth straight win since linking up with trainer Ronnie Shields in November 2023.

The result answered the immediate question around Mielnicki’s place among ranked middleweights. Williams, now 20-3, had already challenged WBC champion Carlos Adames earlier this year and came in as the more proven contender, but he was put under pressure from the opening round when Mielnicki dropped him with a left hook. Williams beat the count and was helped by the bell, yet he never fully wrestled control of the fight away from Mielnicki.

Mielnicki’s right hand troubled Williams in the fourth, and much of the fight followed the same pattern: Mielnicki getting off first, beating Williams to position and making him reset before he could build sustained offence. Williams did have moments, notably in the seventh when he backed Mielnicki to the ropes, but Mielnicki responded with an uppercut that forced him back.

The most uncomfortable spell for Mielnicki came in the eighth, when Williams landed several heavy shots and opened damage to his nose with a left hand. Mielnicki steadied himself, boxed through the danger and finished strongly, punctuating the 10th round with a series of uppercuts that again rocked Williams.

“There’s still some things I have to clean up, but I’m happy with the performance,” Mielnicki said in his post-fight interview with Dazn. “I’m happy and blessed.” Ranked No. 3 by the WBO and inside the top 10 with the other three major sanctioning bodies, he immediately turned towards a title fight, saying, “I want a world title,” and adding, “I think Lara is a good fight for me. I’m ranked high in the WBA.” WBA champion Erislandy Lara has not fought in 2026 and has boxed only three times in the last four years.

Garcia punishes favoured Chaves

Garcia’s win over Chaves was the shock result of the card. Chaves entered as an unbeaten, heavily favoured contender after an April knockout of Miguel Madueno that helped earn him a Matchroom Boxing deal and top-10 positions with all four major sanctioning bodies at lightweight, including No. 5 with the IBF and No. 2 with the WBO.

Garcia, 24-2 (14 KOs), boxed with confidence from the opening round, moving around the ring and catching Chaves as the Argentine tried to close distance. Chaves was dropped in the second by a power jab and never found the rhythm expected of him. On commentary, Sergio Mora said, “This is not the Alan Chaves we are accustomed to seeing.”

Chaves was hurt again near the end of the fourth and then went down twice in the fifth, once from a head shot and once to the body. He was briefly credited with a knockdown early in the same round, but the New Jersey Athletic Commission reviewed the incident and ruled that Garcia had slipped, overturning the 10-8 round in Chaves’ favour.

Garcia continued to land cleanly and put Chaves down for a fourth time in the ninth with a lead hook. Chaves, now 22-1, reached the final bell, but the cards reflected the scale of the upset: 99-87, 99-88 and 98-88 for Garcia.

The victory continues an eventful run for Garcia. He upset Japanese contender Taiga Imanaga by split decision on December 27, 2025, in Riyadh, then signed with Zuffa Boxing before being released after a unanimous decision loss to Andres Cortes on April 5, 2026, in Las Vegas. Friday’s result puts him back into the lightweight conversation at Chaves’ expense.

Elsewhere on the undercard, Zaquin Moses moved to 8-0 with a fifth-round stoppage of Angel Antonio Contreras, recording the fourth knockout of his professional career.

Mielnicki now has a stronger argument for a title route at middleweight, whether through Lara or another sanctioning-body opportunity, while Garcia’s upset forces a reassessment of both his standing and Chaves’ immediate plans after a damaging first professional defeat.