By Mark Vester
There were no excuses from previously undefeated lightweight contender Kevin Mitchell. The was stopped in three rounds on Saturday night by WBO-interim champion Michael Katsidis at Upton Park. After getting caught by a big shot and stunned, Katsidis pinned him against the ropes and followed up with a few more big shots to force the stoppage.
Mitchell said Katsidis lured him in and caught him on the chin with a big shot. He promised to return in the near future.
"I knew he was a big puncher, I knew he was heavy-handed. He lured me into an attack and bang, he caught me. I've been in with big punchers - Carl Johanneson, Breidis Prescott. He lured me into the shot, I walked into one and bang. You can't make mistakes like that, I made the mistake and that's that. I'll come back from that. It's a one-off, you land a big shot. I'll be back with it going on, 100%," Mitchell said.
One can argue that Mitchell was stopped by a legit top-ten lightweight who is known to be a big puncher and there is no shame in that. Mitchell never went down and he made the mistake of trading punches when Katsidis hurt him, when he should of been holding and playing defense. His countryman Amir Khan was knocked out cold a few years ago by Breidis Prescott in less than a minute of the first round. Prescott is a fighter who never did anything before or after the win over Khan. That didn't stop Khan from becoming even larger and earning more money in the aftermath.
