Kevin Mitchell (boxer)

Kevin Mitchell
Mitchell in 2010
Statistics
Nickname(s)	The Hammer The Dagenham Destroyer Mighty
Rated at	Super-featherweight Lightweight
Height	5 ft 8 in (173 cm)
Reach	68 in (173 cm)
Nationality	British
Born	29 October 1984 Romford, East London, England
Stance	Orthodox
Boxing record
Total fights	43
Wins	39
Wins by KO	29
Losses	4

Kevin Mitchell (born 29 October 1984) is a British former professional boxer who competed from 2003 to 2015.^[1] He held the Commonwealth super-featherweight title from 2006 to 2008; the British super-featherweight title from 2008 to 2009; and challenged twice for a lightweight world title in 2012 and 2015.

Amateur career

As an amateur, Mitchell won the senior-level ABA featherweight title in 2003, at the age of 18.^[2]

Professional career

Mitchell made his professional debut for promoter Frank Warren on 17 July 2003, scoring a first-round knockout of Stevie Quinn.^[1] On 10 December 2005, Mitchell stopped Mohammed Medjadji in six rounds to win the vacant IBF Inter-Continental super-featherweight title, his first regional championship.

Commonwealth and British super-featherweight champion

Further success followed on 28 October 2006, when Mitchell defeated George Ashie by twelve-round unanimous decision to win the vacant Commonwealth super-featherweight title.^[3] Two defences of this title came against Harry Ramogoadi on 10 March 2007 (sixth-round TKO)^[4] and Carl Johanneson on 8 March 2008 (ninth-round TKO). In the Johanneson fight, Mitchell also won the British super-featherweight title, but it would be prove to a very tough outing for him, as Johanneson had managed to draw level on the judges' scorecards by the time of the stoppage.^[5]

Moving up to lightweight

In 2009, Mitchell began his campaign at lightweight with the aim of winning a world title. Wins over Lanquaye Wilson on 22 May (third-round TKO) and Ruddy Encarnacion on 18 July (eighth-round TKO) served as a prelude to what would be one of Mitchell's most acclaimed performances to date, against Breidis Prescott on 5 December. Prescott, notorious for his punching power and shocking knockout of Amir Khan in 2008, had virtually no answer for Mitchell's skilful use of range, movement and accurate punches. At the end of the twelve-round distance, the judges scored the fight as a wide unanimous decision for Mitchell, handing him his 31st consecutive professional victory and the WBO Inter-Continental lightweight title.^[6]

First defeat

With the win over Prescott inching Mitchell ever closer to a world title opportunity, one final hurdle awaited him on 15 May 2010 at Boleyn Ground stadium, which took place in front of 15,000 fans.^[7] On the line was the WBO interim title, held by hard-hitting slugger Michael Katsidis, as well as a chance to fight for a full world title later in the year. At the opening bell, Mitchell looked to establish his jab and keep Katsidis at bay. In the first two evenly split rounds, the occasional flurry of hooks from a highly aggressive Katsidis was enough to make Mitchell fight consistently on the back foot in an attempt to keep out of range. However, in the closing seconds of both rounds, Katsidis was able to launch a charging attack and finish strongly at the bell. In the third round, Katsidis continued to charge at Mitchell and was soon able to land a combination of hooks which made Mitchell stumble backwards on unsteady legs. From thereon, Mitchell was unable to fully regain his composure and, less than two minutes later, he was buckled by a hard left hook and a further succession of unanswered punches, at which point the referee stopped the fight.

Personal struggles and comeback

Mitchell would not fight for more than a year, during which a series of personal problems came to light.^[8] Going into the Katsidis fight, Mitchell later revealed that he was going through family and relationship issues, as well as living an unhealthy lifestyle. A showdown against fellow lightweight prospect and domestic rival John Murray, then undefeated as a professional, was set for 16 July 2011 as a risky comeback fight for Mitchell. In an action-packed fight featuring several shifts in momentum, Mitchell was able to withstand Murray's aggressive onslaught and score an eighth-round stoppage to capture his second WBO Inter-Continental lightweight title.^[9]

World title challenges

Another year of relative inactivity followed until 22 September 2012, when Mitchell faced WBO lightweight champion Ricky Burns for his first world title opportunity. In front of his home crowd in Glasgow, Burns put on a masterful display of boxing by scoring two knockdowns and dispatching of Mitchell in four rounds.^[10] Following his second professional loss, Mitchell spent ten months away from the sport. From 2013 to 2014, having switched promoters to Matchroom Sport and reunited with former trainer Tony Sims, Mitchell racked up four wins in what proved to be a steady return to form, coupled with a more mature and disciplined lifestyle.

On 31 May 2014, an unexpectedly stiff test came in the form of Ghislain Maduma, on the undercard to the rematch between Carl Froch and George Groves at Wembley Stadium. On the day of the fight, Mitchell failed to make the IBF-mandated same-day weigh-in by 1 ¹⁄₂ lb (0.68 kg), a mistake which Mitchell put down to having eaten steak the night before. Since the fight was an eliminator to face then-reigning IBF lightweight champion Miguel Vázquez, Mitchell had forfeited his chance at fighting for the title even if he won. In the fight against Maduma, Mitchell gave up an early lead on points and absorbed many clean punches from his highly aggressive opponent. In the ninth round, and behind on all scorecards, Mitchell began to gain ground by catching Maduma with clean punches of his own. This was followed up in rounds ten and eleven, when Maduma was staggered by a series of punches and stopped on his feet.^[11]

With the IBF title opportunity gone astray, Mitchell went a different route in 2015. On 31 January, he faced Daniel Estrada for the vacant WBC Silver lightweight title. In what was described as a career-best performance, Mitchell showcased his boxing skills with renewed motivation en route to stopping Estrada in eight rounds.^[12] This set up a second world title opportunity for Mitchell, this time against WBC lightweight champion Jorge Linares. Their fight took place on 30 May and got off to a cagey start, with neither fighter winning any rounds convincingly. In round five, Mitchell scored a hard knockdown, allowing him to build up a lead on the scorecards and box with increasing confidence. However, Linares scored a knockdown of his own in round ten, which quickly signalled the end of the fight as Mitchell's eye had been badly cut from a punch, forcing the referee to wave off the fight.^[13]

The year ended on a sour note for Mitchell on 12 December, as he made another attempt at vying for a world title. On the line was the WBA interim lightweight title, and facing him was Ismael Barroso, a then-unknown power puncher who came in with a near-perfect knockout record. From the opening round, Mitchell was unable to fend off the undefeated southpaw, who knocked him down three times. By the fifth round, the referee spared Mitchell from further damage and stopped the fight. Immediately afterwards, Mitchell had to be given oxygen by ringside doctors.^[14]

Retirement

Mitchell was scheduled to face European lightweight champion Edis Tatli on 18 March 2016 in Finland, but on 10 February, Mitchell announced his retirement and withdrawal from the fight. He told Sky Sports, "I've had a good think about it over the last week and I'm happily retired now. ... I've been doing this 22 years and it's time to call it a day and start a new chapter in my life."^[15]

Professional boxing record

Professional record summary
43 fights	39 wins	4 losses
By knockout	29	4
By decision	10	0

No.	Result	Record	Opponent	Type	Round, time	Date	Location	Notes
43	Loss	39–4	Ismael Barroso	TKO	5 (12), 2:47	12 Dec 2015	The O2 Arena, London, England	For vacant WBA interim lightweight title
42	Loss	39–3	Jorge Linares	TKO	10 (12), 2:57	30 May 2015	The O2 Arena, London, England	For WBC lightweight title
41	Win	39–2	Daniel Estrada	TKO	8 (12), 1:12	31 Jan 2015	The O2 Arena, London, England	Won vacant WBC Silver lightweight title
40	Win	38–2	Ghislain Maduma	TKO	11 (12), 2:56	31 May 2014	Wembley Stadium, London, England
39	Win	37–2	Mikheil Avakyan	TKO	2 (8), 2:07	15 Mar 2014	Echo Arena, Liverpool, England
38	Win	36–2	Karim El Ouazghari	TKO	9 (12), 2:07	14 Dec 2013	ExCeL, London, England	Retained IBF Inter-Continental lightweight title
37	Win	35–2	Marco Antonio López	TKO	6 (12), 1:44	5 Oct 2013	The O2 Arena, London, England	Won vacant IBF Inter-Continental lightweight title
36	Win	34–2	Sebastien Benito	PTS	10	6 Jul 2013	York Hall, London, England
35	Loss	33–2	Ricky Burns	TKO	4 (12), 2:59	22 Sep 2012	Exhibition and Conference Centre, Glasgow, Scotland	For WBO lightweight title
34	Win	33–1	Felix Lora	PTS	10	10 Feb 2012	York Hall, London, England
33	Win	32–1	John Murray	TKO	8 (12), 1:46	16 Jul 2011	Echo Arena, Liverpool, England	Won vacant WBO Inter-Continental lightweight title
32	Loss	31–1	Michael Katsidis	TKO	3 (12), 1:57	15 May 2010	Boleyn Ground, London, England	For WBO interim lightweight title
31	Win	31–0	Ignacio Mendoza	KO	3 (12), 1:24	13 Feb 2010	Wembley Arena, London, England	Retained WBO Inter-Continental lightweight title
30	Win	30–0	Breidis Prescott	UD	12	5 Dec 2009	Metro Radio Arena, Newcastle, England	Won vacant WBO Inter-Continental lightweight title
29	Win	29–0	Ruddy Encarnacion	TKO	8 (10), 2:35	18 Jul 2009	MEN Arena, Manchester, England
28	Win	28–0	Lanquaye Wilson	TKO	3 (8), 2:07	22 May 2009	York Hall, London, England
27	Win	27–0	Walter Estrada	UD	12	7 Jun 2008	Boardwalk Hall, Atlantic City, New Jersey, US	Won vacant WBO Inter-Continental super-featherweight title
26	Win	26–0	Carl Johanneson	TKO	9 (12), 2:29	8 Mar 2008	The O2 Arena, London, England	Won British super-featherweight title; Retained Commonwealth super-featherweight title
25	Win	25–0	Edison Torres	TKO	3 (10), 1:09	12 Jan 2008	York Hall, London, England
24	Win	24–0	Alexander Khrulev	KO	2 (12), 0:57	14 Jul 2007	The O2 Arena, London, England	Won vacant WBO Inter-Continental super-featherweight title; Retained IBF Inter-Continental super-featherweight title
23	Win	23–0	Harry Ramogoadi	TKO	6 (12), 3:00	7 Jun 2007	Olympia, Liverpool, England	Retained Commonwealth super-featherweight title
22	Win	22–0	George Ashie	UD	12	28 Oct 2006	York Hall, London, England	Won vacant Commonwealth super-featherweight title
21	Win	21–0	Andrei Isaeu	TKO	11 (12), 1:37	8 Sep 2006	Grosvenor House Hotel, London, England	Won IBF Inter-Continental super-featherweight title
20	Win	20–0	Imad Ben Khalifa	TKO	2 (8), 0:34	7 Jul 2006	Millennium Stadium, Cardiff, Wales
19	Win	19–0	Kirkor Kirkorov	RTD	2 (12)	13 May 2006	York Hall, London, England	Retained IBF Inter-Continental super-featherweight title
18	Win	18–0	Youssouf Djibaba	UD	12	25 Feb 2006	ExCeL, London, England	Retained IBF Inter-Continental super-featherweight title
17	Win	17–0	Mohammed Medjadji	TKO	6 (12), 2:12	10 Dec 2005	ExCel, London, England	Won vacant IBF Inter-Continental super-featherweight title
16	Win	16–0	Daniel Thorpe	TKO	4 (8), 2:10	25 Oct 2005	Guild Hall, Preston, England
15	Win	15–0	Wladimir Borov	TKO	2 (6), 1:35	23 Sep 2005	Hilton Hotel Mayfair, London, England
14	Win	14–0	Karim Chakim	PTS	8	29 Apr 2005	Elephant and Castle Shopping Centre, London, England
13	Win	13–0	Frederic Bonifai	PTS	6	8 Apr 2005	Meadowbank Stadium, Edinburgh, Scotland
12	Win	12–0	Henry Janes	PTS	4	11 Dec 2004	ExCeL, London, England
11	Win	11–0	Alain Rakow	KO	1 (6), 2:46	19 Nov 2004	York Hall, London, England
10	Win	10–0	Mounir Guebbas	PTS	6	22 Oct 2004	Royal Highland Showground, Edinburgh, Scotland
9	Win	9–0	Arpad J Toth	TKO	3 (6), 0:45	10 Sep 2004	York Hall, London, England
8	Win	8–0	Jason Nesbitt	TKO	3 (4), 0:45	5 Jun 2004	York Hall, London, England
7	Win	7–0	Slimane Kebaili	TKO	1 (4), 1:25	13 May 2004	York Hall, London, England
6	Win	6–0	Eric Patrac	TKO	1 (4), 2:20	24 Apr 2004	Rivermead Leisure Centre, Reading, England
5	Win	5–0	Kristian Laight	PTS	4	7 Feb 2004	York Hall, London, England
4	Win	4–0	Jaz Virdee	TKO	1 (4), 1:13	24 Jan 2004	Wembley Conference Centre, London, England
3	Win	3–0	Vladimir Varhegyi	TKO	3 (4), 1:44	6 Nov 2003	Goresbrook Leisure Centre, London, England
2	Win	2–0	Csaba Ladanyi	TKO	1 (4), 2:21	18 Sep 2003	Goresbrook Leisure Centre, London, England
1	Win	1–0	Stevie Quinn	KO	1 (4), 3:00	17 Jul 2003	Goresbrook Leisure Centre, London, England	Professional debut

Titles in boxing

References

1. Professional boxing record for Kevin Mitchell from BoxRec. Retrieved 14 January 2016.
2. "116th ABA National Championships 2003 York Hall, London". England Boxing. Retrieved 14 January 2016.
3. "Mitchell battles to Ashie victory" BBC Sport. BBC. 28 October 2006. Retrieved 14 January 2016.
4. "Win rewards Mitchell's patience". BBC Sport. BBC. 9 March 2007. Retrieved 14 January 2016.
5. "Mitchell delivers KO blow". Sky Sports. Sky. Retrieved 14 January 2016.
6. Davies, Gareth A (5 December 2009). "Kevin Mitchell sets up WBO lightweight title bid after beating Breidis Prescott on points". The Daily Telegraph. Telegraph Media Group. Retrieved 14 January 2016.
7. Liew, Jonathan (15 May 2010). "Kevin Mitchell succumbs to Michael Katsidis' power at Upton Park". The Daily Telegraph. Telegraph Media Group. Retrieved 14 January 2016.
8. Evans, Dave (12 March 2015). "Mitchell: I was never prepared for the big night at Upton Park". Barking and Dagenham Post. Archant. Retrieved 14 January 2016.
9. Hassan, Nabil (17 July 2011). "Kevin Mitchell stops John Murray in eighth round". BBC Sport. BBC. Retrieved 14 January 2016.
10. Domin, Martin (22 September 2012). "Feel the Burns: Rampant Ricky blasts through Mitchell to win 'Battle of Britain' and retain world belt". Daily Mail. DMG Media. Retrieved 14 January 2016.
11. Cunningham, Sam (31 May 2014). "Kevin Mitchell misses out on Miguel Vasquez showdown despite 11th round stoppage of Ghislain Maduma". Daily Mail. DMG Media. Retrieved 14 January 2016.
12. "Kevin Mitchell stops Daniel Estrada in eight rounds to set up a world title shot". Sky Sports. Sky. 1 February 2015. Retrieved 14 January 2016.
13. "Photo: Kevin Mitchell's Gruesome Eye Injury After TKO". BoxingScene. 30 May 2015. Retrieved 14 January 2016.
14. Anderson, David (12 December 2015). "Kevin Mitchell battered by Ismael Barroso and left needing oxygen as world title hopes end". Daily Mirror. Trinity Mirror. Retrieved 14 January 2016.
15. Robinson, Isaac (10 February 2016). "Kevin Mitchell calls off European title shot and retires from boxing". Sky Sports. Sky. Retrieved 10 February 2016.

External links

• Kevin Mitchell at Matchroom Sport (archived)