Wednesday 10 February 2016 16:18, UK
Kevin Mitchell should go down as one of the best British boxers never to lay his hands on a world title, writes Isaac Robinson...
Dagenham lightweight Kevin Mitchell announced his retirement on Wednesday with a record of 39-4-KO29 and having won the British and Commonwealth titles in 2008 as a super-featherweight.
At the age of just 31, Mitchell has pulled the plug ahead of a scheduled European title tilt at Edis Tatli in the reigning champion's native Finland. The decision comes around nine months after the more agonising of his two world title defeats - a late stoppage at the hands of Jorge Linares.
That night - May 30, 2015 at The O2, Mitchell seemed on the verge of putting it all together. His textbook skills were on show for all to see against the WBC world lightweight champion as he ducked and weaved in and out of range, reeling off combinations with a natural ease.
The rangy Linares, who has held titles at three different weight classes, was forced to pick himself up from the canvas in the fifth round and Mitchell's fellow Londoners believed that finally, after so much water under the bridge, they were watching the end of a long road to a world title coronation.
What happened was a microcosm of Mitchell's career as a whole. Some dazzling moments, all the promise a fighter could ever have, and ultimately a suspicion he should have worn more belts. When he was stopped on a hideous cut in the 10th round of that fight, he had been felled by the Venezuelan just once and was ahead on the scorecards.
To lament Mitchell's failure to climb to the very top is not to belittle what he did achieve; British and Commonwealth titles are not won easily but by his own admission, there were times when Mitchell's lifestyle outside of the ring did not equip him with the physical means to do his undoubted talents justice in it.
One man who was always a fan of Mitchell and a champion of his potential is Jim Watt - himself a former WBC world lightweight champion. The Scot (now a Sky Sports pundit), said of 'Mighty' Mitchell: "The first time I clapped eyes on him fighting I thought: 'world champion.'"
While there was endless glory in the defeat to Linares, who may remain underrated in discussions on the best pound-for-pound fighters in the world, Mitchell did himself fewer favours during previous times on big stages.
In May 2010, a fairytale scene was set. Breidis Prescott, who looked like he had concrete in his hands when he blasted the then-darling of British boxing Amir Khan to pieces inside a round, had been made to look like a fumbling amateur the previous December - and at the home of his beloved West Ham, Mitchell was put in with Michael Katsidis with the WBO interim world title on the line.
The first time I clapped eyes on him fighting I thought: 'world champion.'
Australia's Katsidis was a boxing neutral's favourite with his all-action style and withering hooks. There was certainly no shame in losing to him, but it was the manner in which Mitchell succumbed as early as the third round and the disappointment that swept around Upton Park that lives in the memory.
Prior to that bout, Mitchell was unbeaten in 31 fights and had rarely looked touchable. His classy style was evident from the very early stages of his career but he had also proven his stomach for war in relieving Carl Johanneson of the British and Commonwealth titles in 2008.
Once again, it is by his own admission that Mitchell sold himself short at the headquarters of his favourite football club. He even admits that the night before the biggest fight of his life, he was out until the early hours of the morning doing things he should not have been doing. It's easy to criticise from the armchair, but few fans of boxing can really fathom how easy it must be for complacency to breed amid consistent success.
To his credit, Mitchell regathered over the course of a year away from the sport and came back in some style - upsetting the odds to derail compatriot John Murray with a clinical eighth-round stoppage. One routine victory over Felix Lora later, he found himself with a first shot at a bona fide world title against Scotland's Ricky Burns.
The Burns fight is not altogether easy to analyse. It came at a point when Mitchell seemed to be back in the ascendancy and at least claiming to be free from the personal problems that had blighted him ahead of his big night at Upton Park. While a fourth-round stoppage was crushing, it's important to credit the quality of Burns at that stage in his career - he'd already outclassed Katsidis and nobody had looked like beating him for some time.
When Mitchell returned in 2013 and racked up four victories to book an IBF eliminator against Ghislain Maduma, again the boxing fraternity were largely positive over his chances of forcing his way across the world title line. His failure to meet with the overnight weight gain requirements prevented his 11th-round stoppage gaining him mandatory challenger status.
The weight issue at Wembley brought about predictable accusations of continuing ill-discipline but it seems that Mitchell's mind was never clearer than towards the latter stages of his career, for he bounced back from the IBF disappointment with one of the performances of his life against Daniel Estrada.
In schooling the Mexican, who had just challenged for a world title, Mitchell made it look inevitable that he would rule the world eventually. As during the victories over Murray and Prescott, the sharpness and accuracy of his punching seemed to come so easily. Defensively, the evasion and punch-parrying looked just as natural. Everyone believed.
There was no reason to shelve that belief for the first half of the Linares clash, either. Even when it was going badly in the 10th and Mitchell was pinned on the ropes with the champion unloading, his courageous counter-attack brought about the roar of the night from The O2. The groans in the sad silence came moments later with their man halted in the corner. A microcosm within a microcosm.
Regardless of whether he fulfilled what he personally set out to or whether he capitalised fully on the talent that was there for everyone else to see, boxing fans should be glad to have watched Mitchell fight. Maybe his head was elsewhere at certain times, but his heart was always on his sleeve and the people were often off their seats.
To watch, Mitchell's career has moved boxing fans with both joy and agony.
