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Q n A With 21-0 Heavyweight Seth Mitchell

Published

13 years ago

May 12, 2011

The Sweet Science

SIX QUESTIONS WITH SETH MITCHELL…SHARIF BOGERE FACES RAY BELTRAN IN MAIN EVENT; IN CO-FEATURE,

FORMER COLLEGE FOOTBALL STAR SETH MITCHELL BATTLES EVANS QUINN

IN EXCITING NIGHT OF FIGHTS ON SHOBOX: THE NEW GENERATION May 13, 2011, From Primm, Nev., On SHOWTIME (11:05 p.m. ET/PT)

NEW YORK (May 11, 2011) – He’s relatively new to the boxing game having picked up the sport just three years ago at the age of 25, but former college football star Seth “Mayhem” Mitchell (21-0-1, 15 KOs) says to expect quite a show this Friday, May 13, as he takes on tough Nicaraguan Evans “The Sandman” Quinn (20-5-1, 18 KOs) in a 10-round heavyweight battle LIVE on ShoBox: the New Generation on SHOWTIME (11:05 p.m. ET/PT, delayed on the West coast).

SHOWTIME fight fans will “see a heavyweight who comes out and applies a lot of pressure,” said Mitchell, a former linebacker at Michigan State University. “Not one that provides a boring fight. They can expect someone who is aggressive and who is coming to win and ready to put on an exciting fight.”

Sharif “The Lion” Bogere (19-0, 12 KOs) of Las Vegas meets “Sugar” Raymundo Beltran (24-4, 16 KOs) of North Hollywood, Calif., for the vacant NABO lightweight title from Buffalo Bill’s Star of the Desert Arena in Primm, Nev., in the main event on Friday.

The exciting night of fights is presented by Golden Boy Promotions and is sponsored by Corona and DeWalt Tools. Doors open at 5:30 p.m. with the first bell set for 6:30 p.m.

Tickets, priced at $50 (Floor) and $20 (General Admission) are on sale and available for purchase at the Star of the Desert Arena Box Office or online at www.primmvalleyresorts.com. Tickets will also be available through Ticketmaster by calling (800) 745-3000 or online at www.ticketmaster.com.

Mitchell answered six questions.

Question: You are already 28 years old and started boxing just three years ago. Do you still feel like you have a long ways to go in boxing?

MITCHELL: “I don’t feel like I have a long way to go although at the same time I feel like there are certain things that I need to improve on. I think my learning curve has been excellent. I’ve learned a lot and I have a great trainer (Andre Hunter) who has helped me along the way. I think my overall boxing game is good. The one thing I think I can improve on is countering off my defense. I feel like I have a fairly strong defense but when I go back and watch myself, I see that my opponent will miss, but that the counter is not there. It’s not second nature for me to do it. If I think about it, I do it, but it doesn’t come naturally for me. So countering off my defense is something I’m really working on.”

Question: You have said that if you had never seen NFL player Tom Zbikowski box, then you probably would have never been turned onto the sport of boxing. Is he someone you would like to fight someday?

MITCHELL: “Absolutely. I was a casual boxing fan before I started and to see someone like him that I played against in college have success, it really inspired me and got me to pick up the sport. I can honestly say that if I would have never seen him fight, then I probably wouldn’t be talking to you today. As far as fighting him goes, we are at two different stages in our careers. I think he’s 3-0 and I’m 21-0 and I believe he’s a cruiserweight. If he comes up to heavyweight and gets up there in the rankings then yes, but I’m not going to call him out now.”

Question: Your opponent is nicknamed “The Sandman” because he says his punches put people to sleep. What do you know about him?

MITCHELL: “He’s about 6-foot-2, 225, 230 pounds. He’s right-handed and a counter puncher. He has 18 KOs and good punching power. I’m going to have to stay focused and watch his punching power. His record and his KO power say it’s my toughest opponent to date, but that remains to be seen. I think he has to worry about what I bring to the table. I’m in tremendous shape and my focus is at an all-time high. I’ve been fortunate enough to never have been cut or knocked down in my career and I don’t intend to either on Friday night, but I’m not underestimating my opponent. I just know I’m not going to be the one going to sleep.”

Question: You’ve been to Kuwait and Iraq to visit the U.S. troops on a USO Tour with other boxers. What was that experience like?

MITCHELL: “It was great and so much more than I expected. Just to go over and visit them for a week was so special. To spend time with them and see what they go through on a day-to-day basis was a very humbling experience for me. It made me appreciate some of the things I take for granted. It’s just something I’ll never forget.”

Question: Your degree is in criminal justice with a specialization in Homeland Security. What do you see yourself doing after your boxing career is finished?

MITCHELL: “I might get into the boxing game maybe as an announcer or something, but just doing something that gives back to the community would be my ultimate goal and be what I’d want to do. I have a big heart and I’m all about helping the youth in my community. I grew up without a dad but did have a lot of father figures that really helped me out. I had some great mentors that led me to do the right things, so I think just setting up some programs for the youth would be a great way to give back.”

Question: Who would you most like to fight?

MITCHELL: “Right now the Klitschko brothers are running the heavyweight division. I’m not going to say they are very exciting fighters to watch, but they are good fighters and they are effective fighters and they’ve proven that they are the best. Right now, I just want to fight whoever has the belts. I’m in this to fight a world championship. I know it’s going to come in due time and I will get that fight because I want to become heavyweight champion of the world.”

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2015 Fight of the Year – Francisco Vargas vs Takashi Miura

Published

8 years ago

January 4, 2016

The Sweet Science

The WBC World Super Featherweight title bout between Francisco Vargas and Takashi Miura came on one of the biggest boxing stages of 2015, as the bout served as the HBO pay-per-view’s co-main event on November 21st, in support of Miguel Cotto vs Saul Alvarez.

Miura entered the fight with a (29-2-2) record and he was making the fifth defense of his world title, while Vargas entered the fight with an undefeated mark of (22-0-1) in what was his first world title fight. Both men had a reputation for all-out fighting, with Miura especially earning high praise for his title defense in Mexico where he defeated Sergio Thompson in a fiercely contested battle.

The fight started out hotly contested, and the intensity never let up. Vargas seemed to win the first two rounds, but by the fourth round, Miura seemed to pull ahead, scoring a knock-down and fighting with a lot of confidence. After brawling the first four rounds, Miura appeared to settle into a more technical approach. Rounds 5 and 6 saw the pendulum swing back towards Vargas, as he withstood Miura’s rush to open the fifth round and the sixth round saw both men exchanging hard punches.

The big swinging continued, and though Vargas likely edged Miura in rounds 5 and 6, Vargas’ face was cut in at least two spots and Miura started to assert himself again in rounds 7 and 8. Miura was beginning to grow in confidence while it appeared that Vargas was beginning to slow down, and Miura appeared to hurt Vargas at the end of the 8th round.

Vargas turned the tide again at the start of the ninth round, scoring a knock down with an uppercut and a straight right hand that took Miura’s legs and sent him to the canvas. Purely on instinct, Miura got back up and continued to fight, but Vargas was landing frequently and with force. Referee Tony Weeks stepped in to stop the fight at the halfway point of round 9 as Miura was sustaining a barrage of punches.

Miura still had a minute and a half to survive if he was going to get out of the round, and it was clear that he was not going to stop fighting.

A back and forth battle of wills between two world championship level fighters, Takashi Miura versus “El Bandido” Vargas wins the 2015 Fight of the Year.

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Jan 9 in Germany – Feigenbutz and De Carolis To Settle Score

Published

8 years ago

January 4, 2016

The Sweet Science

This coming Saturday, January 9th, the stage is set at the Baden Arena in Offenburg, Germany for a re-match between Vincent Feigenbutz and Giovanni De Carolis. The highly anticipated re-match is set to air on SAT.1 in Germany, and Feigenbutz will once again be defending his GBU and interim WBA World titles at Super Middleweight.

The first meeting between the two was less than three months ago, on October 17th and that meeting saw Feigenbutz controversially edge De Carolis on the judge’s cards by scores of (115-113, 114-113 and 115-113). De Carolis scored a flash knock down in the opening round, and he appeared to outbox Feigenbutz in the early going, but the 20 year old German champion came on in the later rounds.

The first bout is described as one of the most crowd-pleasing bouts of the year in Germany, and De Carolis and many observers felt that the Italian had done enough to win.

De Carolis told German language website RAN.DE that he was more prepared for the re-match, and that due to the arrogance Feigenbutz displayed in the aftermath of the first fight, he was confident that he had won over some of the audience. Though De Carolis fell short of predicting victory, he promised a re-vamped strategy tailored to what he has learned about Feigenbutz, whom he termed immature and inexperienced.

The stage is set for Feigenbutz vs De Carolis 2, this Saturday January 9th in Offenburg, Germany. If you can get to the live event do it, if not you have SAT.1 in Germany airing the fights, and The Boxing Channel right back here for full results.

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Articles

2015 Knock Out of the Year – Saul Alvarez KO’s James Kirkland

Published

8 years ago

December 29, 2015

The Sweet Science

On May 9th of 2015, Saul “Canelo” Alvarez delivered a resonant knock-out of James Kirkland on HBO that wins the 2015 KO of the Year.

The knock-out itself came in the third round, after slightly more than two minutes of action. The end came when Alvarez delivered a single, big right hand that caught Kirkland on the jaw and left him flat on his back after spinning to the canvas.Alvarez was clearly the big star heading into the fight. The fight was telecast by HBO for free just one week after the controversial and disappointing Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao fight, and Alvarez was under pressure to deliver the type of finish that people were going to talk about. Kirkland was happy to oblige Alvarez, taking it right to Alvarez from the start. Kirkland’s aggression saw him appear to land blows that troubled the young Mexican in the early going. Alvarez played good defense, and he floored Kirkland in the first round, displaying his power and his technique in knocking down an aggressive opponent.

However, Kirkland kept coming at Alvarez and the fight entered the third round with both men working hard and the feeling that the fight would not go the distance. Kirkland continued to move forward, keeping “Canelo” against the ropes and scoring points with a barrage of punches while looking for an opening.

At around the two minute mark, Alvarez landed an uppercut that sent Kirkland to the canvas again. Kirkland got up, but it was clear that he did not have his legs under him. Kirkland was going to try to survive the round, but Alvarez had an opportunity to close out the fight. The question was would he take it?

Alvarez closed in on Kirkland, putting his opponent’s back to the ropes. Kirkland was hurt, but he was still dangerous, pawing with punches and loading up for one big shot.

But it was the big shot “Canelo” threw that ended the night. Kirkland never saw it coming, as he was loading up with a huge right hand of his own. The right Alvarez threw cracked Kirkland in the jaw, and his eyes went blank. His big right hand whizzed harmlessly over the head of a ducking Alvarez, providing the momentum for the spin that left Kirkland prone on the canvas.

Saul “Canelo” Alvarez went on to defeat Miguel Cotto in his second fight of 2015 and he is clearly one of boxing’s biggest stars heading into 2016. On May 9th Alvarez added another reel to his highlight film when he knocked out James Kirkland with the 2015 “Knock Out of the Year”.

Photo by naoki fukuda

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