Seth Mitchell vs Tomasz Adamek: who wins?

Thanks. Another '70s heavyweight that I could have used as an example is Ron Lyle. Even though Lyle was one of the best five or six heavyweights of his era, he was always befuddled by boxer/mover/stylist types, even when they were inferior opponents whom he beat.

 

Several points.

First, Mitchell and Grant are vastly different fighters physically and stylistically. How Adamek did against Grant yields some, but not much, insight into how he'll do against Mitchell. For what it's worth, Adamek did beat Grant wide and easy aside from those two or three times he was staggered by Grant's long left hook.

Second, Mitchell opened a tiny cut on bridge of Ibragimov's nose in round one with a single jab, but he did not "redden Ibragimov's face." This comment was blurted by one of the HBO announcers: either Max or Dan Rafael. Keep in mind that it is very widely believed in the boxing industry that the latter is a shill for Golden Boy. I'm not saying that the rumor is true, but if there's even an iota of truth to it, that would explain his commentary, including the possible "redden" comment.

The Guardian stated that Mitchell's "jab falls away like an amateur." This is precisely what I noticed on slow motion replay. Generally his jab "falls away" when it falls short of target.

I think Mitchell's problems lay in offense as well as defense. The only reason his offensive weaknesses haven't been exposed yet -- outside of what I described in the first five minutes of the Ibragimov fight -- is because he's fought mostly stationary targets (i.e., guys who aren't boxer/movers). When we see Mitchell step up against someone like Adamek or Chambers, we will likely see serious offensive flaws.

I remind everyone again that Mitchell is reputed to have struggled with Zack Page in 2008. Allegedly Page ran, boxed, ducked, and potshotted Mitchell with much success for eight rounds, losing only by close decision.

I've talked to a couple of Maryland people who saw the Mitchell-Page fight. Both were convinced he can't handle boxers, period.

I would love to hear from anyone else who saw Mitchell-Page. Too bad there's no film available of that fight.

 

His face does not look reddened to me. Also, the comment was made by Max or Dan. That's a fact. Larry's voice is distinctive; it sounds aged, slowed, and even slightly boozy (note that he couldn't pronounce "Uzbekistan"). Larry definitely did not make the "reddened" statement.

 

We've seen enough of Mitchell to know that he'll be doing a lot of "stopping" himself...knocking guys senseless. He's alreay proven he's that good. However, I don't think the boxing/tactical/jabbing types will be easy for him. Mitchell's victims will be flatfooted, stationary fighters. That's my theory.

 

Just to be respectful, I'll check it again. I could have sworn it was one of the younger guys. If I'm wrong, I'll admit it here.

Either way, my statement about Mitchell's punches falling short of their mark stands. There's a Russian language version of the HBO video on youtube. Watch that one, because it allows the viewer to slow the film down to 1/4 speed.

Again, the point is that Mitchell is not necessarily the devastating jabber that you claim he is. Read OP.

 

You are correct that Merchant made the statement, not Kellerman. Nonetheless, my point still stands: as Mitchell moves up the ladder, it is questionable if he will be able to handle boxer/move/jabber types. I don't think that his jab will count for much against those kinds of guys.

Read The Guardian link for more. I'm interested in what you have to say about that. That article criticizes Mitchell's jab as well.

Regarding my prefight expectations, Mitchell did indeed prove that he could get past a Ibragimov, a boxer/jabber of top-20/top-25ish standing. But let's see if he can do the same against Adamek and Chambers, who are boxer/jabbers of top-10ish standing. I say Mitchell will fail on the higher level.

And yes, it's still a question mark as to whether Mitchell can fight effectively past five rounds. Again, I think Adamek and Chambers will take him into deep waters. That's when we see if Mitchell has stamina.