NEW YORK – Vito Mielnicki Jr. redeemed himself somewhat in the same ring Friday night where he admitted he “laid an egg” in his previous performance 4½ months earlier.

The 22-year-old middleweight still didn’t do enough to convince two judges that he beat Connor Coyle. Tom Carusone scored Mielnicki a 96-94 winner, but Ken Ezzo and Kevin Morgan scored their 10-round, 160-pound bout even – 95-95 apiece – and it resulted in a majority draw on the Denys Berinchyk-Keyshawn Davis undercard in The Theater at Madison Square Garden.

Morgan scored each of the last four rounds for Coyle. He scored five of the first six rounds for Mielnicki.

Mielnicki (20-1-1, 12 KOs), of Roseland, New Jersey, rocked Coyle several times during their fan-friendly fight. Coyle (21-0-1, 9 KOs), of Derry, Northern Ireland, exploited Mielnicki’s defensive deficiencies at times, though, and won enough rounds to leave the ring without a loss on his record.

Mielnicki didn’t leave the ring victorious, but he fought more effectively than he did when he beat Khalil El Harraz (16-6-1, 2 KOs) by majority decision in their 10-rounder September 27 at The Theater.

The 34-year-old Coyle (21-0-1, 9 KOs) entered the ring ranked No. 3 among the WBA’s middleweight contenders, but he hasn’t fought a high level of opposition overall.

With their back-and-forth fight seemingly up for grabs, Mielnicki and Coyle traded flush punches for much of an entertaining 10th round. A right hand by Mielnicki to the side of Coyle’s head knocked him off balance in the final minute of their bout, but Coyle came back to throw hard shots until the final bell.

As blood flowed from the cut around his left eye, Coyle traded punches with Mielnicki for much of the ninth round. A sweeping left hook by Mielnicki knocked Coyle backward a few seconds before the ninth round concluded.

A right uppercut by Coyle landed as Mielnicki moved forward with just over a minute to go in the eighth round. Coyle landed an array of power punches in the opening minute of the eighth round, when Mielnicki failed to move his head.

Coyle connected with a right hand as soon as the seventh round began. Coyle clipped Mielnicki with a left hook out of a clinch later in the seventh round.

Willis warned Mielnicki for hitting Coyle behind his head in the final minute of the seventh round. Mielnicki’s right to the side of Coyle’s head knocked him off balance with approximately 45 seconds on the clock in the seventh round.

Mielnicki cracked Coyle with a clean left hook when there was about 1:15 remaining in the sixth round. An overhand right by Mielnicki stopped Coyle in his tracks later in the sixth round.

Coyle caught Mielnicki with an overhand right early in the fifth round, when Mielnicki came forward with his left hand down.

Coyle landed various power punches during the first half of the fourth round. Mielnicki made him pay later in the fourth round, however, when his right hand opened a cut around Coyle’s left eye.

Coyle caught Mielnicki with a left hook and a right hand toward the end of the third round to gain some momentum.

Mielnicki landed an overhand right that staggered Coyle about 35 seconds into the second round. Coyle retreated after taking that shot, but Mielnicki landed another right hand toward the end of the second round that seemed to affect Coyle as well.

Coyle and Mielnicki spent much of the first round trying to establish distance with their jabs. Neither fighter landed consequential punches in the opening three minutes.