The lightweight division is there for Mitchell’s taking!

So before everyone cries knee jerk reaction, here me out. Kevin was suburb the weekend. Not many gave him a chance against the dangerous, undefeated John Murray coming off a 14 month lay off. This time last year, Mitchell’s career looked to have crashed big time. He lost his biggest fight to date against Katsidis, crushed in 3 rounds in front of 17,000 fans. Excuses laid to one side, even his promoter had seemingly turned his back on him by signing Britain’s premier Lightweight, in a bid to replace the fallen man. With seemingly everything against him, he put his personal problems to one side, and got down to training for his comeback - his make or break fight. Should he had lost to Murray, Mitchell would have practically been finished.

Any fear of ring rust was laid to rest in the opening few seconds of the fight when Kevin charged forward at Murray, stinging him with good solid shots to the face and body with both hands. It was clear Mitchell had prepared well this time around. He took a good shot in the second, and then continually unboxed Murray for the rest of the fight, making the bigger man miss at will, as well as tagging him with a spiteful jab and good inside uppercuts throughout the fight. Once he hurt Murray in the 7th (something no-one had done before), it was clear the fight was going to end early. Indeed, the very next round, Mitchell connects big with a perfect left hook which drops Murray, and he goes on to finish him with a flurry of hooks and uppercuts. Mitchell is very much back in the frame.

As soon as the fight was over, the questions inevitably turn to future opponents. So lets look at the possibilities. Going by the Rings Ratings, Mitchell is now 5th behind JMM, Rios, Soto, Guererro and Katsidis. On paper, winning a world title off of these men looks next to impossible. But if we dig a little deeper, we see that the division isn’t so stacked. Marquez doesn’t have too much more left, and will have even less left once Manny is finished with him in November. He stands the make a lot of money from this fight, so I expect that, should he lose, he will have one final farewell fight in Mexico before calling it a day. Then we have Guerrero and Soto. We already know the American is moving up in weight, taking on Marcos Maidana for some interim/regular belt at LWW. Soto has also said he is moving up in weight, probably to avoid Rios. Rios himself is having problems making 135, and has expressed an interest in moving to 140 to take on Khan. Suddenly, the stacked Lightweight division isn’t so formidable. Mitchell, with his power, speed, movement and defence, could well beat the likes of Acosta, Vazquez, and dare I say it, Katsidis in a rematch, to bag himself a world title. His performance against a very good, in somewhat limited Murray, roved he can still mix it with the best in the division. More so, it proved to us fans, as well as to himself, that the demons of the Katsidis fight have been laid to rest. Suddenly, a world title doesnt seem so far off.

 

Its all about the Welter Weight Division mate.........

Nobody cares about anything below 140.

 

He will not beat Acosta or Katsidis again. The Vazquez fight is a toss up imo.

 

I dunno man, I tend to just think he was out of his depth physically and mentally against Katsidis. I mean really he fought kind of scared in that fight, very tentative. I remain unconvinced about his world class credentials but I guess he's got the chance to prove otherwise now, and that the katsidis debacle really was down to training.

 

Only casual fans dont care.

 

I think he beats Vazquez (but I've not seen too much of him tbh). I also think he will beat Kats in a rematch, not necessarily because he is a better boxer, but because of the amount of damage Kats has taken in his wars with Guererro and Marquez. I'm really not sure how much he has left. If Mitchell trains right, he might pull it off. The Acosta fight would be his hardest. He is a very good boxer, and was doing well against Rios before he was stopped. I'd favour Ascota if truth be told, but Mitchell would be very much a live dog

 

Clueless you, really clueless

 

This. My thoughts exactly re Katsidis. It's perfect for Kev in that Kats has taken a few pastings, he's that bit older and Kev can avenge the defeat against someone still operating at a decent level.

Just don't set it up for Upton Park and all that.

 

his head wasn't in it for the katsidis fight he even Said it himself he should have called it off plus there were rumours of drugs.

 

The Uptok Park thing is cool with me. I am a fan and only live 10 minutes away

 

I dont know, his chin is super ****, Murray on rubbery legs nearly had him out in that 8th round againt the ropes, any of the top Lightweights would have taken him out there.

 

How is his chin ****?

Not like he's been sat on the canvass much is it?

Granted he can be hurt but he's hardly got a **** chin!!!

 

:huh the heavy hitting Katsidis stops him, and suddenly he ha a **** chin? Carl Johanneson? And Murray almost took him out in the 8th? Murray hit him with two good shots in the 2nd, and Mitchell winked at his corner. In the 8th Murray came out swinging, Mitchell covered up and looked for an opportunity. He was hardly on the brink of being stopped.

 

@vano,he didnt wink in the 2nd. he was badly buzzed in that round and prompted me to stick 20 on Murray inside the distance atsch

 

So you're reasoning is that everybody better than him is moving up in weight?