The Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey, has hosted many boxing cards since it opened its doors in 2007. Now “The Rock” will set the stage for the next generation of boxing talent in New Jersey.
The Garden State’s premier indoor sports arena will host its first installment of Brick City Fight Night Live this Friday, featuring a selection of the top prospects from and around New Jersey. The series is promoted by GH3 Promotions and will feature promising junior middleweight prospect Vito Mielnicki Jr. in the ten-round main event against veteran Salim Larbi.
The card will be streamed live on TrillerTV for the pay-per-view price of $19.99, while tickets are available for purchase through Ticketmaster.
Dylan Wanagiel, vice president of sports properties and special events at the Prudential Center, says bringing a regular boxing series to the venue has long been a priority. Wanagiel says the goal is to promote 3 or 4 “Brick City” shows per year, with the next event planned for March or April.
“We believe there is a lot of boxing talent in New Jersey and sometimes they are underserved in our market,” Wanagiel said.
“We are looking to make this regular programming for Prudential Center. “I think the best way to increase viewership is to give them some consistency in programming so they can mark their calendars ahead of time.”
The local reach of the card has already been felt in the boxing community. Several of the boxers on the card, including Mielnicki Jr., Michael “Slick” Anderson and Mike Lee, were on hand last Thursday at the Boylan Street Recreation Center in Newark to train with young fans in the boxing program and offer words . of inspiration.
Professional boxers Dwyke Flemmings Jr., Michael Anderson, Mike Lee and Vito Mielnicki Jr. meet with young fans at the Boylan Recreation Center. Photo by Kyle Huang
That same week, Mielnicki Jr. was present at the New Jersey Devils and Seton Hall Pirates men’s basketball games at the Prudential Center, promoting the show and giving away tickets.
Although North Jersey has its share of local club cards, they are often scheduled as one-offs and without much consistency. A regular schedule of local cards could help develop the market and turn prospects into contenders and champions.
“For us, creating a new program with consistency is a way for local talent to build their names and their following, it is important. We have seen it in the past in New Jersey and now it is important for us to be consistent with this program here in Newark,” Wanagiel said.
As evidenced by the lineup, there is certainly no shortage of local talent in the New Jersey area. Two of the fighters featured on the card, Salim Larbi of Rahway, New Jersey and Thomas LaManna of Millville, New Jersey, are former world title challengers. Five of the boxers in action have won national tournaments, including 2019 Golden Gloves national champion Anthony Johns of Newark, 2015 US Youth Olympic champion Joseph Adorno of Allentown, Pennsylvania, 2016 Olympic Trials champion Paul Kroll of Philadelphia, 2017 US Junior Open champion Mielnicki. Jr. and 2018 Easter Qualifier champion, John Vallejo of Paterson, New Jersey
There is also no shortage of stories to follow on the card.
The 21-year-old Mielnicki (16-1, 11 KOs), who signed with Premier Boxing Champions, returns to the place where he made his professional debut at age 17. The Roseland, New Jersey, resident is the biggest local draw next. championship level, and looks to cap a great year against Larbi (22-12-3, 8 KOs), a native of Cambrai, France, who challenged for the WBO interim junior middleweight title in 2012.
The 30-year-old Johns (6-1, 5 KOs) has proven to be a box office hit in his hometown as well and is looking to bounce back from his first loss, a controversial majority draw against Misael Graffioli in Argentina. this past September. He faces Israel Camacho (2-9) in a four-round flyweight bout.
The card will also feature Mike Lee (10-2, 5 KOs) of Orange, New Jersey, in a rematch against Rickey Edwards (13-5, 3 KOs) of Paterson in a six-round welterweight bout. Lee will look to avenge his previous loss to Edwards, who upset him via majority decision in May 2022.
Kristian Prenga (14-1, 14 KOs), an Albanian with explosive punches who now makes his home in Edgewater, New Jersey, will make his first appearance in North Jersey against Christopher Arnold (5-3, 5 KOs) of Fredericksburg, Virginia in an eight-round heavyweight bout. The 6’5” Prenga has brought with him a passionate following in his last three fights in Atlantic City, and now he can demonstrate his ability to draw close to his home.
“Cornflake” LaManna (36-5-1, 15 KOs) has helped bring boxing to New Jersey for the past decade, both as a local attraction and as president of Rising Star Promotions, which puts on events in Atlantic City and Newark. The 32-year-old overcame mental health issues following his knockout loss to Erislandy Lara in his only world title shot in 2021 and has returned to no. 4 in the WBA middleweight rankings after six consecutive victories.
Also appearing in separate fights will be junior middleweight prospect Dwyke Flemmings Jr. (4-0, 4 KOs) of Paterson and featherweight prospect Malik Nelson (4-0, 3 KOs) of Perth Amboy, New Jersey.
A crowd of about 5,000 fans is expected for the first show, Wanagiel says. Part of the arena will be curtained off, and only lower seats will be available, but as Prudential Center was recently named the fifth-highest-grossing venue in the world seating more than 15,001 people according to Billboard’s year-end rankings, Wanagiel says it wouldn’t be out of the question to see the audience grow for future shows.
“I would say our vision is to focus on local talent and give them a consistent platform for this program. I think as long as we do it consistently, we will continue to see growth,” Wanagiel said.
“Over time, and with consistent programming, this could become a packed event.”
Ryan Songalia has written for ESPN, New York Daily News, Rappler and The Guardian, and is part of the Craig Newmark School of Journalism Class of 2020. He can be contacted at [email protected].
