Seth Mitchell Beats Johnathon Banks In Listless Fight

Seth Mitchell tested his chin and confidence, seven months after Johnathon Banks beat him up and stopped him in round two, in Atlantic City. On Saturday night in Brooklyn, he passed the test, I guess, but the audience was severely tested, as these two put on a pretty horrid showing. Banks seemed out of it from the get go, and Mitchell played it safe virtually the whole way.

The crowd was happiest when the bell rang to end the 12th, the merciful 12th.

Neither guy really deserved to win for their sad outing, it could be argued, but it was Mitchell who did a bit more. He won by scores of 115-112, 117-109, 114-112.

To be fair, he just came off a bad KO loss, but Banks, really, leaves one shaking their head. Unless he has a GREAT alibi, I think he has to ask himself if this is for him, or he just wants to train people.

Also, a few weeks ago Mitchell and his wife suffered a tragedy, the stillborn birth of a 34-week old baby, so of course, we feel mightily for him, and understand if he couldn’t be fully focused.

Mitchell (from Brandywine, MD; 25-1-1 with 19 KOs) was 243.6 while Banks (from Detroit; 29-1-1 entering) was 216.8.

In the first, both men postured. The crowd booed as they both stared at each other.

In round two, Banks went down and said it was from a rabbit punch. An uppercut landed before that, though.

In the third, Mitchell got buzzed bad and was nearly dropped at the end of the round. Two rights did the damage.

In the fourth, a counter left hook by Banks was the most telling punch. Mitchell mostly stayed smart, moved, kept himself safe.

In the fifth, Banks gave away the round with inactivity. He stunk in the sixth, too. Sorry, the lack of action here was appalling.

Looked like Banks buzzed Mitchell in the eighth. A right to the chin scored heavily. In round nine, the two did some decent works on the ropes with Mitchell working harder. Mitchell’s right eye had puffed some by this point. The tenth was a boring round. In the 11th, it was the same. And the 12th ended badly as well.