Seth Mitchell vs Tomasz Adamek: who wins?

I overlooked Kingpin in compiling my list of guys who might outbox Mitchell. I should have considered him as well.

Again, the secret is to keep the fight in center ring, don't get hit, and pick Mitchell apart until he tires or fades psychologically. Maybe Kingpin could do it.

 

It's not an unreasonable assumption. A top notch defensive heavyweight could very well dodge the blows of Mitchell, whose weaknesses in open ring punching/boxing I have described (and I'm drawing on the observations of many others, too).

 

Indeed, only time well tell the truth. If I'm proven wrong, I will be the first to admit it on this board.

In Mitchell's defense, it must be acknowledged that he is an unusually fast learner. Who knows, Andre Hunter may iron out Mitchell's current flaws in time. Let's see.

 

My hypothesis is that Mitchell will never overcome the weaknesses I'm talking about. As I said before, every fighter has his Achilles Heel -- some tactical/stylistic/athletic flaw -- that is deeply ingrained, and which (for reasons of nature) he never transcends, regardless of training and development.

Over decades, I have seen many examples of talented, heavily muscled sluggers in the heavyweight division who struggled with "pure" boxer/stylists. I noticed that these sluggers had trouble with the boxer/stylist even when the latter was clearly an inferior talent.

One classic textbook example is George Foreman. In 1970-71, he twice met boxer/stylstic Gregorio Peralta, who although experienced, was just a big lightheavyweight (and an aging fighter, too). Although the young Foreman -- who was looking invincible and flawless at the time -- was favored to easily overwhelm Peralta, he had to struggle in both fights. At that point, it was established that Foreman's weakness was that he had difficulty coping with tricky, defensive, laterally moving boxers.

In the mid and late '70s, when Foreman next met top-notch boxer/stylists -- Muhammad Ali and Jimmy Young -- he was easily and decisively beaten. Even in spite of years of extra learning and ring experience, Foreman could not overcome the same instinctive weaknesses that had hobbled him against Peralta.

Assuming Mitchell is capable of overcoming this weakness, how long will it take? I have no idea. Boxing training is complex: I won't speculate on this subject.

Assuming Mitchell can't overcome his weakness, can he still advance himself? Most certainly...very much so. However, his handlers will need to steer him away from boxer/tacticians (like those I described) who are capable of exploiting his weaknesses.

Just my two cents.

 

I respectfully disagree that Mitchell's jab made any impact on Ibragimov. In fact, I was shocked by the relative ease with which Ibragimov eluded Mitchell's jab. This is the first time I have seen any of Mitchell's opponents accomplish this. When Mitchell did connect with a jab, it was usually to Ibragimov's body. When Seth successfully jabbed Ibragimov's head, the punch was usually grazing, at best.

Check out the slow motion replay (1/4 speed) to see what I mean. Also, check out "The Guardian" article (linked in OP) for more info about Mitchell's jab that night.

It looked to me like Mitchell was compelled to compensate for the ineffectiveness of his jab by doubling up on his overhand rights. That tactic did indeed force Ibragimov to back away.

I'm not saying that Mitchell's jab is bad, either. I've seen him use it to awesome effect in other fights. What I am saying, though, is that defensive stylists (of which Ibragimov is an example), can elude Mitchell's jab. That's partly why I'm thinking that Adamek and Chambers can beat him.

Again: nothing I say here denies the reality that when Seth finally did manage to connect with a big bomb, he closed the show in efficient, awesome fashion.

 

Thanks. Again, I emphasize that when I'm talking about boxer/stylsts who can exploit Mitchell's failings, I'm thinking about genuinely top 5 or top 10 talents. A boxer/stylst that's more of a top 20ish fighter will trouble Mitchell -- to some degree expose his weaknesses -- but ultimately not beat him. It will take a top 10ish boxer/stylist to turn the trick. Most of the time, at least.

 

I agree that should Adamek beat Mitchell by UD (and I'm pretty certain he would), it will be boring. The winner could afford to take no chances, but to secure victory through patient, defensive boxing.