Kevin Mitchell (boxer)


Kevin Mitchell is a British former professional boxer who competed from 2003 to 2015. He challenged twice for the lightweight world title in 2012 and 2015. At the 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

On 28 October 2006, Mitchell defeated George Ashie by a twelve-round unanimous decision to win the vacant Commonwealth super-featherweight title. Two defenses 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. Johanneson had drawn level on the judges' scorecards by the time of the stoppage.

Moving up to lightweight

In 2009, Mitchell began his campaign at lightweight. He won over Lanquaye Wilson on 22 May and Ruddy Encarnacion on 18 July. One of Mitchell's most acclaimed matches to date was his win against Breidis Prescott on 5 December. Prescott was famous for his punching power and knockout of Amir Khan in 2008. At the end of the twelve-round, 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 loss

On the 15 May 2010, Mitchell competed for WBO interim title, held by Michael Katsidis, as well as a chance to fight for a full world title later in the year. The referee stopped the fight two minutes into the third round when Katsidis hit Mitchell with a left hook and several unanswered punches.

Personal life

Mitchell was unable to compete for over a year due to personal issues. Prior to the Katsidis fight, Mitchell disclosed that he had been experiencing family and relationship difficulties, as well as engaging in an unhealthy lifestyle.

Comeback

A fight against fellow lightweight prospect and domestic rival John Murray, then undefeated as a professional, was set for 16 July 2011 as a comeback fight for Mitchell. Mitchell won 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 scored two knockdowns and defeated 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 earned four wins in what proved to be a steady return to form.
On 31 May 2014, an unexpected 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, 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.
On 31 January 2015, 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. In round five, Mitchell scored a hard knockdown, allowing him to build up a lead on the scorecards. Linares scored a knockdown of his own in round ten, which quickly signaled the end of the fight as Mitchell's eye had been badly cut from a punch, forcing the referee to wave off the fight.
On 12 December, 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, who knocked him down three times. By the fifth round, the referee stopped the fight. Immediately afterwards, Mitchell had to be given oxygen by ringside doctors.

Retirement

Mitchell was scheduled to fight 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
43Loss39–4Ismael BarrosoTKO5, 2:4712 Dec 2015The O2 Arena, London, EnglandFor vacant WBA interim lightweight title
42Loss39–3Jorge LinaresTKO10, 2:5730 May 2015The O2 Arena, London, EnglandFor WBC lightweight title
41Win39–2Daniel EstradaTKO8, 1:1231 Jan 2015The O2 Arena, London, EnglandWon vacant WBC Silver lightweight title
40Win38–2Ghislain MadumaTKO11, 2:5631 May 2014Wembley Stadium, London, England
39Win37–2Mikheil AvakyanTKO2, 2:0715 Mar 2014Echo Arena, Liverpool, England
38Win36–2Karim El OuazghariTKO9, 2:0714 Dec 2013ExCeL, London, EnglandRetained IBF Inter-Continental lightweight title
37Win35–2Marco Antonio LópezTKO6, 1:445 Oct 2013The O2 Arena, London, EnglandWon vacant IBF Inter-Continental lightweight title
36Win34–2Sebastien BenitoPTS106 Jul 2013York Hall, London, England
35Loss33–2Ricky BurnsTKO4, 2:5922 Sep 2012Exhibition and Conference Centre, Glasgow, ScotlandFor WBO lightweight title
34Win33–1Felix LoraPTS1010 Feb 2012York Hall, London, England
33Win32–1John MurrayTKO8, 1:4616 Jul 2011Echo Arena, Liverpool, EnglandWon vacant WBO Inter-Continental lightweight title
32Loss31–1Michael KatsidisTKO3, 1:5715 May 2010Boleyn Ground, London, EnglandFor WBO interim lightweight title
31Win31–0Ignacio MendozaKO3, 1:2413 Feb 2010Wembley Arena, London, EnglandRetained WBO Inter-Continental lightweight title
30Win30–0Breidis PrescottUD125 Dec 2009Metro Radio Arena, Newcastle, EnglandWon vacant WBO Inter-Continental lightweight title
29Win29–0Ruddy EncarnacionTKO8, 2:3518 Jul 2009MEN Arena, Manchester, England
28Win28–0Lanquaye WilsonTKO3, 2:0722 May 2009York Hall, London, England
27Win27–0Walter EstradaUD127 Jun 2008Boardwalk Hall, Atlantic City, New Jersey, USWon vacant WBO Inter-Continental super featherweight title
26Win26–0Carl JohannesonTKO9, 2:298 Mar 2008The O2 Arena, London, EnglandWon British super featherweight title;
Retained Commonwealth super featherweight title
25Win25–0Edison TorresTKO3, 1:0912 Jan 2008York Hall, London, England
24Win24–0Alexander KhrulevKO2, 0:5714 Jul 2007The O2 Arena, London, EnglandWon vacant WBO Inter-Continental super featherweight title;
Retained IBF Inter-Continental super featherweight title
23Win23–0Harry RamogoadiTKO6, 3:007 Jun 2007Liverpool Olympia, Liverpool, EnglandRetained Commonwealth super featherweight title
22Win22–0George AshieUD1228 Oct 2006York Hall, London, EnglandWon vacant Commonwealth super featherweight title
21Win21–0Andrei IsaeuTKO11, 1:378 Sep 2006Grosvenor House Hotel, London, EnglandWon IBF Inter-Continental super featherweight title
20Win20–0Imad Ben KhalifaTKO2, 0:347 Jul 2006Millennium Stadium, Cardiff, Wales
19Win19–0Kirkor Kirkorov2 13 May 2006York Hall, London, EnglandRetained IBF Inter-Continental super featherweight title
18Win18–0Youssouf Djibaba1225 Feb 2006ExCeL, London, EnglandRetained IBF Inter-Continental super featherweight title
17Win17–0Mohammed MedjadjiTKO6, 2:1210 Dec 2005ExCel, London, EnglandWon vacant IBF Inter-Continental super featherweight title
16Win16–0Daniel ThorpeTKO4, 2:1025 Oct 2005Guild Hall, Preston, England
15Win15–0Wladimir BorovTKO2, 1:3523 Sep 2005Hilton Hotel Mayfair, London, England
14Win14–0Karim ChakimPTS829 Apr 2005Elephant and Castle Shopping Centre, London, England
13Win13–0Frederic BonifaiPTS68 Apr 2005Meadowbank Stadium, Edinburgh, Scotland
12Win12–0Henry JanesPTS411 Dec 2004ExCeL, London, England
11Win11–0Alain RakowKO1, 2:4619 Nov 2004York Hall, London, England
10Win10–0Mounir GuebbasPTS622 Oct 2004Royal Highland Showground, Edinburgh, Scotland
9Win9–0Arpad J TothTKO3, 0:4510 Sep 2004York Hall, London, England
8Win8–0Jason NesbittTKO3, 0:455 Jun 2004York Hall, London, England
7Win7–0Slimane KebailiTKO1, 1:2513 May 2004York Hall, London, England
6Win6–0Eric PatracTKO1, 2:2024 Apr 2004Rivermead Leisure Centre, Reading, England
5Win5–0Kristian Laight47 Feb 2004York Hall, London, England
4Win4–0Jaz VirdeeTKO1, 1:1324 Jan 2004Wembley Conference Centre, London, England
3Win3–0Vladimir VarhegyiTKO3, 1:446 Nov 2003Goresbrook Leisure Centre, London, England
2Win2–0Csaba Ladanyi1, 2:2118 Sep 2003Goresbrook Leisure Centre, London, England
1Win1–0Stevie Quinn1, 3:0017 Jul 2003Goresbrook Leisure Centre, London, England