Kevin Mitchell (born 29 October 1984) 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."116th ABA National Championships 2003 York Hall, London". England Boxing. Retrieved 14 January 2016.

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."Mitchell battles to Ashie victory" BBC Sport. BBC. 28 October 2006. Retrieved 14 January 2016. Two defenses of this title came against Harry Ramogoadi on 10 March 2007 (sixth-round TKO)"Win rewards Mitchell's patience". BBC Sport. BBC. 9 March 2007. Retrieved 14 January 2016. and Carl Johanneson on 8 March 2008 (ninth-round TKO). 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."Mitchell delivers KO blow". Sky Sports. Sky. Retrieved 14 January 2016.

Moving up to lightweight In 2009, Mitchell began his campaign at lightweight. He won over Lanquaye Wilson on 22 May (third-round TKO) and Ruddy Encarnacion on 18 July (eighth-round TKO). 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.Davies, Gareth A (5 December 2009). "Kevin Mitchell sets up WBO lightweight title bid after beating Breidis Prescott on points". The Daily Telegraph. Telegraph Media Group. Retrieved 14 January 2016.

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.Hassan, Nabil (17 July 2011). "Kevin Mitchell stops John Murray in the eighth round". BBC Sport. BBC. Retrieved 14 January 2016.

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."Kevin Mitchell stops Daniel Estrada in eight rounds to set up a world title shot". Sky Sports. Sky. 1 February 2015. Retrieved 14 January 2016. 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."Photo: Kevin Mitchell's Gruesome Eye Injury After TKO". BoxingScene. 30 May 2015. Retrieved 14 January 2016.

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.Anderson, David (12 December 2015). "Kevin Mitchell battered by Ismael Barroso and left needing oxygen as world title hopes end". Daily Mirror. Trinity Mirror. Retrieved 14 January 2016.

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."Robinson, Isaac (10 February 2016). "Kevin Mitchell calls off European title shot and retires from boxing". Sky Sports. Sky. Retrieved 10 February 2016.

Professional boxing record

ResultRecordOpponentTypeRound, timeDateLocationNotes43Loss39–4Ismael BarrosoTKO5 (12), 12 Dec 201542Loss39–3Jorge LinaresTKO10 (12), 30 May 201541Win39–2Daniel EstradaTKO8 (12), 31 Jan 201540Win38–2Ghislain MadumaTKO11 (12), 31 May 201439Win37–2Mikheil AvakyanTKO2 (8), 15 Mar 201438Win36–2Karim El OuazghariTKO9 (12), 14 Dec 201337Win35–2Marco Antonio LópezTKO 6 (12), 5 Oct 201336Win34–2Sebastien BenitoPTS106 Jul 201335Loss33–2Ricky BurnsTKO4 (12), 22 Sep 201234Win33–1Felix LoraPTS1010 Feb 201233Win32–1John MurrayTKO8 (12), 16 Jul 201132Loss31–1Michael KatsidisTKO3 (12), 15 May 201031Win31–0Ignacio MendozaKO3 (12), 13 Feb 201030Win30–0Breidis PrescottUD125 Dec 200929Win29–0Ruddy EncarnacionTKO8 (10), 18 Jul 200928Win28–0Lanquaye WilsonTKO3 (8), 22 May 200927Win27–0Walter EstradaUD127 Jun 200826Win26–0Carl JohannesonTKO9 (12), 8 Mar 200825Win25–0Edison TorresTKO3 (10), 12 Jan 200824Win24–0Alexander KhrulevKO2 (12), 14 Jul 200723Win23–0Harry RamogoadiTKO6 (12), 7 Jun 200722Win22–0George AshieUD1228 Oct 200621Win21–0Andrei IsaeuTKO11 (12), 8 Sep 200620Win20–0Imad Ben KhalifaTKO2 (8), 7 Jul 200619Win19–0Kirkor Kirkorov2 (12)13 May 200618Win18–0Youssouf Djibaba1225 Feb 200617Win17–0Mohammed MedjadjiTKO6 (12), 10 Dec 200516Win16–0Daniel ThorpeTKO4 (8), 25 Oct 200515Win15–0Wladimir BorovTKO2 (6), 23 Sep 200514Win14–0Karim ChakimPTS829 Apr 200513Win13–0Frederic BonifaiPTS68 Apr 200512Win12–0Henry JanesPTS411 Dec 200411Win11–0Alain RakowKO1 (6), 19 Nov 200410Win10–0Mounir GuebbasPTS622 Oct 20049Win9–0Arpad J TothTKO3 (6), 10 Sep 20048Win8–0Jason NesbittTKO3 (4), 5 Jun 20047Win7–0Slimane KebailiTKO1 (4), 13 May 20046Win6–0Eric PatracTKO1 (4), 24 Apr 20045Win5–0Kristian Laight47 Feb 20044Win4–0Jaz VirdeeTKO1 (4), 24 Jan 20043Win3–0Vladimir VarhegyiTKO3 (4), 6 Nov 20032Win2–0Csaba Ladanyi1 (4), 18 Sep 20031Win1–0Stevie Quinn1 (4), 17 Jul 2003

References

External links

at Matchroom Sport (archived)