By Jake Donovan
It appears that 2012 could prove to be a far more favorable campaign than have been the past two years for Kevin Mitchell.
The British lightweight contender was forced to ride the pine following the biggest win of his career, an 8th round knockout of John Murray this past July. Mitchell hoped for the fight to lead to a big opportunity, including a potential showdown with then-unbeaten lightweight titlist Brandon Rios.
Instead, it was Murray who was chosen as the opponent for Rios in the chief supporting bout to the Miguel Cotto-Antonio Margarito rematch at Madison Square Garden in early December. Murray was valiant in defeat, but defeated nevertheless as he suffered his second straight loss.
A silver lining may have been discovered in the aftermath, as Mitchell is now being groomed for a title fight against Scotland standout Ricky Burns.
Mitchell is slated to headline a Boxnation telecast live from York Hall in Bethnal Green on February 10. The lightweight contender faces unbeaten Irish prospect Stephen Ormond in the evening’s main event.
The Friday night affair comes exactly one month before fellow UK lightweight Ricky Burns returns to the ring for the first defense of his newly acquired lightweight crown. The opponent has yet to be determined for his March 10 showcase appearance at Braehead Arena in Glasgow, Scotland, which will also air live on Boxnation.
Burns (33-2, 9KO) is coming off of the biggest win of his career, a 12-round decision over Michael Katsidis in their November clash. The bout was fought for a vacant lightweight title after Burns was forced to give up his own belt due to his no longer being able to make the 130 lb. weight limit.
Mitchell (32-1, 24KO) presently serves as the top rated contender to Burns’ alphabet title. The hope – assuming that both fighters win their next televised bouts – is to produce a head-on collision later this year.
Both fighters are promoted by Frank Warren. That coupled with Mitchell’s top alphabet ranking should make such a bout easy to make in theory. This being boxing, theory and reality are always two separate matters, though Warren’s office remains optimistic that such a fight happens when the time is right.
“Hopefully they will meet each other after these fights,” suggested Richard Maynard, spokesperson for Frank Warren Promotions.
Jake Donovan is the Managing Editor of Boxingscene.com. Follow Jake on Twitter at twitter.com/JakeNDaBox or submit questions/comments to JakeNDaBox@gmail.com .
