By Dean Parr
On March 13th, in front of a sell-out crowd in his hometown of Newmarket, Pat McAleese improved his record to 10-0 (2 early) by beating Dee Mitchell, now 9-5 (2 KOs), by a margin of 60-55.
“He was a good boxer,” the Johnny Eames-trained McAleese said of his foe. “He came out with a fast jab, but as soon as I got in my rhythm, he couldn't hold the pace that I set, and I was just throwing shots and moving. I was targeting his body a lot, and I was catching him with some really good shots.”
Pat continued to explain the general pattern of the bout, and lauded Mitchell's durability. “I caught with some cracking shots, like a left hook in the first round which hit him bang on the chin and he just took them,” remarked McAleese.
“He winced a few times with a few of the body shots, but other than that, he just kept coming forward. I did my work in spells though. I was doing well with my boxing when I wanted to, hitting and moving and using my jab, and then when I wanted to come in, get inside and fight at close quarters.
He continued: “I picked and chose what I wanted to do. I'd have bursts of keeping him on the ropes and finding angles, and then I'd box a bit. He didn't like the pace - I think he felt uncomfortable with it. I could sit at that pace all day; that's the pace I fight at.”
The light-middleweight was also keen to acknowledge how he saw this as his toughest test to date. “Definitely,” said Pat concurring with this statement. “He looks mean as well, because he's all muscly, but that didn't bother me in the slightest. He's beat some good people and not got a bad record, so he's probably the best lad I've boxed since Paul Morby, and Morby's not that good, he's just awkward; a tricky southpaw that's hard to look good against. Mitchell caught me with a few jabs, and a few overhand rights, but they weren't big shots and I just took them well.”
Next up for McAleese is a bout with Lee Noble on the undercard of the Matthew Hatton vs. Gianluca Branco/Anthony Small vs. Sam Webb double header. He is confident of a victory in this bout.
“I think Lee Noble has the ideal style for me,” revealed Pat. “I'll hit and move and use combinations and body shots, and then I'll move off to a different angle. He'll cover up, and by the time he comes to throw his shots I won't be there.”
For more information on the show, which can be viewed on Sky Sports 1 and HD1 in the UK this Friday night, visit http://www.brandhatton.com.
