Rising East’s Conail Gallagher profiles local boxing hero, Kevin Mitchell.
One of East London’s most respected boxers, Kevin ‘The Hammer’ Mitchell announced his retirement from the sport last month. The Dagenham man had a big following not only in the capital but all over England. But what was it about Mitchell that made him so likeable?
Mitchell oozed amateur pedigree, as he won a senior ABA title in 2003 at the age of just 19. It was at this time that he decided to turn over to the professional ranks rejecting the opportunity to go to the Athens Olympics the following year.
He started off his pro journey in ferocious fashion, as he won his first 31 fights beating the likes of solid punchers, Breidis Prescott and Carl Johanneson. It was just after this point when Mitchell was first defeated in ruthless fashion against notorious warrior, Michael Katsidis for the WBO interim Lightweight title.
Then the East Londoner lost again to Ricky Burns. However, Mitchell told Boxing News that his head was not in the right place for these fights.
“Katsidis chinned me, but people did not know the life that I led going into those fights. It was ridiculous,
“The Ricky Burns fight I had [a long] absence from training. I put on loads of weight and had to lose it all in nine weeks which was a struggle. I just wasn’t there.”
Dedicate
It was at this point where the Eastender decided to part ways with his long time trainer, Jimmy Tibbs and team up with Tony Simms, uncle of ‘TOWIE’ star, Charlie Simms.
Mitchell began to dedicate his life to boxing and the results were clear, as he won his next six consecutive fights, lining up his third and somewhat steepest test against Jorge Linares. The fight turned out to be an absolute barnstormer and Mitchell, so close to winning the fight on cuts had to be stopped due to swelling of the eye.
Through all of the ups and downs in Kevin Mitchell’s career, he has been a clearly loyal West Ham fan with, cherishing his East London roots.