Kevin Mitchell (boxer)


Kevin Mitchell is a British former professional boxer who competed from 2003 to 2015. He challenged twice for lightweight world championships; the WBO title in 2012; and the WBC title in 2015. At regional level, he held the Commonwealth super featherweight title from 2006 to 2008 and the British super featherweight title in 2008.

Amateur career

As an amateur, Mitchell won the senior-level ABA featherweight title in 2003, at the age of 18.

Professional career

Mitchell made his professional debut for promoter Frank Warren on 17 July 2003, scoring a first-round knockout of Stevie Quinn. On 10 December 2005, Mitchell stopped Mohammed Medjadji in six rounds to win the vacant IBF Inter-Continental super-featherweight title, his first regional championship.

Commonwealth and British super-featherweight champion

Further success followed on 28 October 2006, when Mitchell defeated George Ashie by twelve-round unanimous decision to win the vacant Commonwealth super-featherweight title. Two defences of this title came against Harry Ramogoadi on 10 March 2007 and Carl Johanneson on 8 March 2008. In the Johanneson fight, Mitchell also won the British super-featherweight title, but it would be prove to a very tough outing for him, as Johanneson had managed to draw level on the judges' scorecards by the time of the stoppage.

Moving up to lightweight

In 2009, Mitchell began his campaign at lightweight with the aim of winning a world title. Wins over Lanquaye Wilson on 22 May and Ruddy Encarnacion on 18 July served as a prelude to what would be one of Mitchell's most acclaimed performances to date, against Breidis Prescott on 5 December. Prescott, notorious for his punching power and shocking knockout of Amir Khan in 2008, had virtually no answer for Mitchell's skilful use of range, movement and accurate punches. At the end of the twelve-round distance, the judges scored the fight as a wide unanimous decision for Mitchell, handing him his 31st consecutive professional victory and the WBO Inter-Continental lightweight title.

First defeat

With the win over Prescott inching Mitchell ever closer to a world title opportunity, one final hurdle awaited him on 15 May 2010 at Boleyn Ground stadium, which took place in front of 15,000 fans. On the line was the WBO interim title, held by hard-hitting slugger Michael Katsidis, as well as a chance to fight for a full world title later in the year. At the opening bell, Mitchell looked to establish his jab and keep Katsidis at bay. In the first two evenly split rounds, the occasional flurry of hooks from a highly aggressive Katsidis was enough to make Mitchell fight consistently on the back foot in an attempt to keep out of range. However, in the closing seconds of both rounds, Katsidis was able to launch a charging attack and finish strongly at the bell. In the third round, Katsidis continued to charge at Mitchell and was soon able to land a combination of hooks which made Mitchell stumble backwards on unsteady legs. From thereon, Mitchell was unable to fully regain his composure and, less than two minutes later, he was buckled by a hard left hook and a further succession of unanswered punches, at which point the referee stopped the fight.

Personal struggles and comeback

Mitchell would not fight for more than a year, during which a series of personal problems came to light. Going into the Katsidis fight, Mitchell later revealed that he was going through family and relationship issues, as well as living an unhealthy lifestyle. A showdown against fellow lightweight prospect and domestic rival John Murray, then undefeated as a professional, was set for 16 July 2011 as a risky comeback fight for Mitchell. In an action-packed fight featuring several shifts in momentum, Mitchell was able to withstand Murray's aggressive onslaught and score an eighth-round stoppage to capture his second WBO Inter-Continental lightweight title.

World title challenges

Another year of relative inactivity followed until 22 September 2012, when Mitchell faced WBO lightweight champion Ricky Burns for his first world title opportunity. In front of his home crowd in Glasgow, Burns put on a masterful display of boxing by scoring two knockdowns and dispatching of Mitchell in four rounds. Following his second professional loss, Mitchell spent ten months away from the sport. From 2013 to 2014, having switched promoters to Matchroom Sport and reunited with former trainer Tony Sims, Mitchell racked up four wins in what proved to be a steady return to form, coupled with a more mature and disciplined lifestyle.
On 31 May 2014, an unexpectedly stiff test came in the form of Ghislain Maduma, on the undercard to the rematch between Carl Froch and George Groves at Wembley Stadium. On the day of the fight, Mitchell failed to make the IBF-mandated same-day weigh-in by, a mistake which Mitchell put down to having eaten steak the night before. Since the fight was an eliminator to face then-reigning IBF lightweight champion Miguel Vázquez, Mitchell had forfeited his chance at fighting for the title even if he won. In the fight against Maduma, Mitchell gave up an early lead on points and absorbed many clean punches from his highly aggressive opponent. In the ninth round, and behind on all scorecards, Mitchell began to gain ground by catching Maduma with clean punches of his own. This was followed up in rounds ten and eleven, when Maduma was staggered by a series of punches and stopped on his feet.
With the IBF title opportunity gone astray, Mitchell went a different route in 2015. On 31 January, he faced Daniel Estrada for the vacant WBC Silver lightweight title. In what was described as a career-best performance, Mitchell showcased his boxing skills with renewed motivation en route to stopping Estrada in eight rounds. This set up a second world title opportunity for Mitchell, this time against WBC lightweight champion Jorge Linares. Their fight took place on 30 May and got off to a cagey start, with neither fighter winning any rounds convincingly. In round five, Mitchell scored a hard knockdown, allowing him to build up a lead on the scorecards and box with increasing confidence. However, Linares scored a knockdown of his own in round ten, which quickly signalled the end of the fight as Mitchell's eye had been badly cut from a punch, forcing the referee to wave off the fight.
The year ended on a sour note for Mitchell on 12 December, as he made another attempt at vying for a world title on the undercard of Anthony Joshua vs. Dillian Whyte. On the line was the WBA interim lightweight title, and facing him was Ismael Barroso, a then-unknown power puncher who came in with a near-perfect knockout record. From the opening round, Mitchell was unable to fend off the undefeated southpaw, who knocked him down three times. By the fifth round, the referee spared Mitchell from further damage and stopped the fight. Immediately afterwards, Mitchell had to be given oxygen by ringside doctors.

Retirement

Mitchell was scheduled to face European lightweight champion Edis Tatli on 18 March 2016 in Finland, but on 10 February, Mitchell announced his retirement and withdrawal from the fight. He told Sky Sports, "I've had a good think about it over the last week and I'm happily retired now.... I've been doing this 22 years and it's time to call it a day and start a new chapter in my life."

Professional boxing record

No.ResultRecordOpponentTypeRound, timeDateLocationNotes
43Loss39–4 Ismael BarrosoTKO5, 2:4712 Dec 2015 The O2 Arena, London, EnglandFor vacant WBA interim lightweight title
42Loss39–3 Jorge LinaresTKO10, 2:5730 May 2015 The O2 Arena, London, EnglandFor WBC lightweight title
41Win39–2 Daniel EstradaTKO8, 1:1231 Jan 2015 The O2 Arena, London, EnglandWon vacant WBC Silver lightweight title
40Win38–2 Ghislain MadumaTKO11, 2:5631 May 2014 Wembley Stadium, London, England
39Win37–2 Mikheil AvakyanTKO2, 2:0715 Mar 2014 Echo Arena, Liverpool, England
38Win36–2 Karim El OuazghariTKO9, 2:0714 Dec 2013 ExCeL, London, EnglandRetained IBF Inter-Continental lightweight title
37Win35–2 Marco Antonio LópezTKO6, 1:445 Oct 2013 The O2 Arena, London, EnglandWon vacant IBF Inter-Continental lightweight title
36Win34–2 Sebastien BenitoPTS106 Jul 2013 York Hall, London, England
35Loss33–2 Ricky BurnsTKO4, 2:5922 Sep 2012 Exhibition and Conference Centre, Glasgow, ScotlandFor WBO lightweight title
34Win33–1 Felix LoraPTS1010 Feb 2012 York Hall, London, England
33Win32–1 John MurrayTKO8, 1:4616 Jul 2011 Echo Arena, Liverpool, EnglandWon vacant WBO Inter-Continental lightweight title
32Loss31–1 Michael KatsidisTKO3, 1:5715 May 2010 Boleyn Ground, London, EnglandFor WBO interim lightweight title
31Win31–0 Ignacio MendozaKO3, 1:2413 Feb 2010 Wembley Arena, London, EnglandRetained WBO Inter-Continental lightweight title
30Win30–0 Breidis PrescottUD125 Dec 2009 Metro Radio Arena, Newcastle, EnglandWon vacant WBO Inter-Continental lightweight title
29Win29–0 Ruddy EncarnacionTKO8, 2:3518 Jul 2009 MEN Arena, Manchester, England
28Win28–0 Lanquaye WilsonTKO3, 2:0722 May 2009 York Hall, London, England
27Win27–0 Walter EstradaUD127 Jun 2008 Boardwalk Hall, Atlantic City, New Jersey, USWon vacant WBO Inter-Continental super featherweight title
26Win26–0 Carl JohannesonTKO9, 2:298 Mar 2008 The O2 Arena, London, EnglandWon British super featherweight title;
Retained Commonwealth super featherweight title
25Win25–0 Edison TorresTKO3, 1:0912 Jan 2008 York Hall, London, England
24Win24–0 Alexander KhrulevKO2, 0:5714 Jul 2007 The O2 Arena, London, EnglandWon vacant WBO Inter-Continental super featherweight title;
Retained IBF Inter-Continental super featherweight title
23Win23–0 Harry RamogoadiTKO6, 3:007 Jun 2007 Liverpool Olympia, Liverpool, EnglandRetained Commonwealth super featherweight title
22Win22–0 George AshieUD1228 Oct 2006 York Hall, London, EnglandWon vacant Commonwealth super featherweight title
21Win21–0 Andrei IsaeuTKO11, 1:378 Sep 2006 Grosvenor House Hotel, London, EnglandWon IBF Inter-Continental super featherweight title
20Win20–0 Imad Ben KhalifaTKO2, 0:347 Jul 2006 Millennium Stadium, Cardiff, Wales
19Win19–0 Kirkor Kirkorov2 13 May 2006 York Hall, London, EnglandRetained IBF Inter-Continental super featherweight title
18Win18–0 Youssouf Djibaba1225 Feb 2006 ExCeL, London, EnglandRetained IBF Inter-Continental super featherweight title
17Win17–0 Mohammed MedjadjiTKO6, 2:1210 Dec 2005 ExCel, London, EnglandWon vacant IBF Inter-Continental super featherweight title
16Win16–0 Daniel ThorpeTKO4, 2:1025 Oct 2005 Guild Hall, Preston, England
15Win15–0 Wladimir BorovTKO2, 1:3523 Sep 2005 Hilton Hotel Mayfair, London, England
14Win14–0 Karim ChakimPTS829 Apr 2005 Elephant and Castle Shopping Centre, London, England
13Win13–0 Frederic BonifaiPTS68 Apr 2005 Meadowbank Stadium, Edinburgh, Scotland
12Win12–0 Henry JanesPTS411 Dec 2004 ExCeL, London, England
11Win11–0 Alain RakowKO1, 2:4619 Nov 2004 York Hall, London, England
10Win10–0 Mounir GuebbasPTS622 Oct 2004 Royal Highland Showground, Edinburgh, Scotland
9Win9–0 Arpad J TothTKO3, 0:4510 Sep 2004 York Hall, London, England
8Win8–0 Jason NesbittTKO3, 0:455 Jun 2004 York Hall, London, England
7Win7–0 Slimane KebailiTKO1, 1:2513 May 2004 York Hall, London, England
6Win6–0 Eric PatracTKO1, 2:2024 Apr 2004 Rivermead Leisure Centre, Reading, England
5Win5–0 Kristian Laight47 Feb 2004 York Hall, London, England
4Win4–0 Jaz VirdeeTKO1, 1:1324 Jan 2004 Wembley Conference Centre, London, England
3Win3–0 Vladimir VarhegyiTKO3, 1:446 Nov 2003 Goresbrook Leisure Centre, London, England
2Win2–0 Csaba Ladanyi1, 2:2118 Sep 2003 Goresbrook Leisure Centre, London, England
1Win1–0 Stevie Quinn1, 3:0017 Jul 2003 Goresbrook Leisure Centre, London, England