British boxing is currently in a very healthy position according to The Guardian‘s boxing correspondent Kevin Mitchell. He also believes that heavyweight prospect Anthony Joshua will be a future world champion
Speaking to sports journalism students at London College of Communication (LCC), Mitchell spoke in depth about his career as a boxing journalist, recollecting his time spent in his native Australia covering low-key fights for his local newspaper, to being ringside at the controversial rematch between Mike Tyson and Evander Holyfield at the MGM Grand arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. An event to this day that still astounds Mitchell.
Kevin Mitchell of the Guardian addressing students at LCC
“That was an extraordinary event as well as just a fight, we were sitting there in disbelief that someone has bitten a guys ear off, in a sporting event right in front of us,” he says.
Mitchell, British Sports Writer of the year in 1999 was keen to address the current crop of English boxers and the depth that Britain possesses.
Mitchell spoke of the strength in depth in British boxing at the moment in various weight classes, but reserved special praise for newly crowned world IBF welterweight champion Kell Brook: “What Kell achieved by going to America and beating Shawn Porter to become World champion was fantastic, I don’t think anyone really expected it.”
Praise
Mitchell also expressed his excitement for the next few months in British boxing: “There are some big domestic fights coming up, the grudge match between Tony Bellew and Nathan Cleverly, Tyson Fury vs Derek Chisora and one that I’m really excited about Chris Eubank Jr against Billy Joe Saunders. Eubank Jr is someone that I really like and think will go on to do big things.”
Turning to other up and coming British fighters, Mitchell saved special praise for the Olympic champion Anthony Joshua, who knocked out Denis Bakhtov in the second round of the match at O2 Arena on October 11 to improve his record to 9-0.
“In Boxing there’s always doubt, it’s the nature of the game, especially in the heavyweight division. It takes one punch for a journeyman to knockout a champion and shock the world, so I can say with very little doubt, Anthony Joshua will be a world champion in the near future and could be the biggest draw in British boxing,” Mitchell explains.
Having covered numerous boxing events with such accuracy and precision, perhaps Mitchell’s toughest challenge in his career will be his upcoming book on the charismatic and much loved figure Muhammad Ali.
“It’s going to be very tricky, I was asked to do the book as part of a series for athletes who had a great impact on the 20th Century, so I did it from that perspective. There’s not much more you can say that hasn’t been said about Ali but I’ll try to take a slightly different angle on it.”