The rise and rise of Kevin Mitchell
With his crafty features, chimney sweep haircut and love of wearing flat caps, Kevin Mitchell looks like he is straight out of a Charles Dickens novel. The British public certainly has great expectations for this lightweight as he takes his career to the next level on Saturday night with his toughest test to date against Michael Katsidis for the WBO interim title.
It’s been a long time coming but finally “The Dagenham Destroyer” is getting the national recognition he deserves. For boxing fans the he has been on the radar for quite some time, an exciting, whole-hearted fighter, durable and unbeaten.
He stole the show on the undercard of Amir Kahn’s one-punch fight with Dmitri Salita in December by overcoming Khan-slayer Breidis Prescott with a skilled display of strength and accuracy.
Mitchell has always been a boxing man. As a youngster he would wait outside various venues and social events, autograph book in hand, as he searched out the great and the good of the boxing community. On one occasion he ran into Frank Warren and vowed that he would one day be signing him up. A cocky assurance many have probably made and later cringed at, however a man of his word Mitchell followed through and joined Warren’s stable when he went pro at 18.
The destroyer was a prodigy from a young age. As a child growing up in Dagenham he would challenge others in his neighbourhood to scraps and was constantly sporting injuries sustained in these battles, much to his mother’s horror. He took to boxing as a way to turn this aggression into something productive and he was crowned the ABA champion at 18 in 2003, having his first pro fight against Stevie Quinn in the same year. A first-round KO set the tone for “Mighty Mitchell” who has taken all 31 of his career fights so far including 23 knockouts.
Mitchell has quite an old-school style; he is as tough as old boots and workmanlike in his approach. He can certainly bang as his 23 KO’s testify, he likes to get in tight and is by no means afraid to fight on the inside. He sits behind an aggressive jab and tends to work the body with straights looking to open up his opponent and deliver a knockout blow.
The highlight of his career has to be that Prescott match, a real coming of age fight for the Essex boy. It was a gruelling 12-round battle where he kept the Columbian frustrated all night and showed real composure to stick to a slick counter-punching plan of action landing accurate shots and keeping Prescott’s explosive power at bay.
It was made all the sweeter as it was on the undercard of Khan-Salita bout. It would be understandable if Mitchell viewed the Bolton man with some contempt. As two fighters in the same weight class they have had very different rises to glory. Mitchell has had the classic boxing apprenticeship, fighting his socks off and earning his shots, while Khan returned from the 2004 Olympics a national hero, got a big contract and was fast-tracked to big-time boxing. By banishing Prescott it was a case of “anything you can do I can do better” for The Dagenham Destroyer, his skilled display made a mockery of Khan’s 54-second defeat to the Columbian.
While Mitchell doesn’t have the same hand speed as Kahn there is no questioning his chin. You could use it to build a house if you had run out of bricks. He’s got good movement and can boss a fight as anyone who saw in his bout with Ignacios Mendoza would vouch. Mitchell put on a display against Mendoza of a man on form and full of confidence; he didn’t allow the Colombian an inch and delivered a flash finishing move a sniper would be proud of, it was sudden, precise and devastating. Textbook Mitchell.
The future is very much in Mitchell’s hands. If he come through the Katsidis clash unscathed then he should fight the winner of the Juan Diaz and Juan Miguel Marquez bout. As the full WBO belt holder no-one was sure what Marquez’s plans for the strap were and it was thought he may vacate, handing it to the winner of Saturdays match-up. However he’s putting it on the line against Diaz in July and the outcome of that should shape Mitchell’s future and could be his first crack at America, unless Marquez wins then vacates handing it therefore straight to Mighty Mitchell.
If he does head over to America maybe he can track down fellow country man Khan and have a clash that fight fans would relish the opportunity to see. For now though he won’t be looking any further than Katsidis at Upton Park this weekend.
As an interesting side note, Mitchell claims that during his fledgling years when he was seeking advice and autographs from boxing’s glitterati, the only one who had no time for him was Saturday’s opponent Katsidis.
The Australian may wish he had taken a few minutes to ink a signature and politely smile at the young Mitchell come the final bell on Saturday.
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