Sharmba Mitchell, was he supposed to be great?

What do you mean?

Are you asking if he was a mega-prospect who was projected to be a great pro who could collect belts and be dominant? No, he was a national-level (as opposed to international-level) amateur who I think made the finals of the National Golden Gloves. Which makes you a pretty good prospect but not a coveted one with $$$ written across your forehead.

If you’re asking if people now look at his career and think he was great ... the answer there is also no. He was a cut below the top, a two-time titleholder but not ‘the guy’ — Kostya Tszyu was that and showed it in two wins over Mitchell (the first IIRC Mitchell was injured — was it a knee? — but the second he was completely run out of the ring).

He was a guy brought up well, the right way, allowed to get experience and learn, taking on a few older hands who were past their best as he rose up the ranks (Bazooka Limon, Rocky Lockridge) and then he hit a ceiling (losses to Leavander Johnson and Stevie Johnston) but learned from those, dusted himself off and went on a heck of a run.

I don’t know if I’d call him an overachiever, but he certainly didn’t underachieve. All in all, I’d say he pretty much maxed his career given his ability.

 

No.

 

What I feel, at the base of your question, and forgive me for editorializing, is whether or not Mitchell was a stranger in the eyes of the maker. And, the answer to that question, if I may, is no. No one is. Ever. And certainly not on Easter Sunday.

 

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Back in 04 the boxing media really loved Sharmba Mitchell for some reason. Once he was destroyed by Tszyu that pretty much vanished. He was never really the same after the injured knee in 01.

 

No. He was a poor man's Hector Camacho

Exposed early on at 135 by Levander Johnson and Steve Johnson

Regrouped well but was never the best at 140

 

Excellent fighter with shitty knees and the extreme misfortune of being in the same era as Koysta Tzysu who was a literal soutpaw killer. Seriously, most conventional fighters avoid soutpaws but Tzysu loved to fight them and land that straight right hand down the middle against them.

 

I think you meant to say Leavander Johnson.

Mitchell was decent, but he owes a lot to Don King for making things happen for him. His best win is probably Reggie Green.

 

I’ve been looking for Mitchell’s fight against Leavander Johnson - I don’t remember it from back in 1994 but looks like they met when they were both undefeated prospects. The scoring indicates it was a close and competitive fight up to the KO.

Does anyone have any recollections of the fight?

 

He got a lot of hype from the narrative that he was giving Tszyu a tough battle until his knee forced him to retire in their 1st fight, which fueled hype for an eventual rematch. His blowout loss in the rematch has to be 1 of the biggest flops compared to expectations of the past 2 decades.

 

Judah clearly had a bigger flop against Kostya. Mitchell was a pretty normal champion, but Judah was seen as potentially being a star. Kostya benefited greatly from what now look like two or three decent but not great wins.