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Kevin Mitchell is to get a world-title shot in London in May after Frank Warren, his promoter, won the purse bid to stage the vacant WBO lightweight title bout against Michael Katsidis, of Australia.
Warren's bid of $515,000 (about £344,000) beat the only other bid of $501,000, which came from Brendon Smith, Katsidis's manager, on behalf of Ringstar Promotions.
Mitchell, 25, has the longest present unbeaten record in British boxing, stretching now to 31 bouts. He won the British and Commonwealth super-featherweight titles before losing a year to a serious hand injury, but has come back better than ever.
In December, he showed he was world class by thoroughly outboxing Breidis Prescott, who was well known in Britain for his one-round knockout of Amir Khan. Then, last month, he flattened Ignacio Mendoza, of Colombia, in two rounds at Wembley Arena.
Warren said he thought the bout against Katsidis would be exciting. "I’m sure it will be an explosive encounter," he said. "Both guys are come forward, all-action fighters throwing plenty of punches so it's hard not to see this fight developing into real war."
Boxing in Britain will hold no fears for Katsidis, though. The 29-year-old from Queensland won the interim WBO title at Wembley Arena in 2007, beating Graham Earl in five thrilling rounds.
Katsidis’s all-action style saw him signed up by Golden Boy Promotions in the United States, which is where five of his past six bouts have been. He lost another thriller to Joel Casamayor, of Cuba, and a split points decision to Juan Diaz in Houston, Texas.
But he is on a winning run of three bouts and regained the interim WBO title by beating Vicente Escobedo in Las Vegas in September. The bout with Mitchell will be for the full title after Juan Manuel Marquez, of Mexico, decided to give it up.
"I know all about Katsidis, I've watched him over here against my then stablemate Graham Earl and I've watched all his fights on DVD," Mitchell, from Dagenham, said “My trainer Jimmy Tibbs is the best in the business and he'll work out the plan to beat this guy.
“This is the kind of fight I've dreamed of since I was kid and now I’ve got it I can’t wait. The English and the Aussies have got a big rivalry and we kicked their arses last year to regain the Ashes, so I’m looking forward to kicking Katsidis’s arse to win the title.”
Warren's bid of $515,000 (about £344,000) beat the only other bid of $501,000, which came from Brendon Smith, Katsidis's manager, on behalf of Ringstar Promotions.
Mitchell, 25, has the longest present unbeaten record in British boxing, stretching now to 31 bouts. He won the British and Commonwealth super-featherweight titles before losing a year to a serious hand injury, but has come back better than ever.
In December, he showed he was world class by thoroughly outboxing Breidis Prescott, who was well known in Britain for his one-round knockout of Amir Khan. Then, last month, he flattened Ignacio Mendoza, of Colombia, in two rounds at Wembley Arena.
Warren said he thought the bout against Katsidis would be exciting. "I’m sure it will be an explosive encounter," he said. "Both guys are come forward, all-action fighters throwing plenty of punches so it's hard not to see this fight developing into real war."
Boxing in Britain will hold no fears for Katsidis, though. The 29-year-old from Queensland won the interim WBO title at Wembley Arena in 2007, beating Graham Earl in five thrilling rounds.
Katsidis’s all-action style saw him signed up by Golden Boy Promotions in the United States, which is where five of his past six bouts have been. He lost another thriller to Joel Casamayor, of Cuba, and a split points decision to Juan Diaz in Houston, Texas.
But he is on a winning run of three bouts and regained the interim WBO title by beating Vicente Escobedo in Las Vegas in September. The bout with Mitchell will be for the full title after Juan Manuel Marquez, of Mexico, decided to give it up.
"I know all about Katsidis, I've watched him over here against my then stablemate Graham Earl and I've watched all his fights on DVD," Mitchell, from Dagenham, said “My trainer Jimmy Tibbs is the best in the business and he'll work out the plan to beat this guy.
“This is the kind of fight I've dreamed of since I was kid and now I’ve got it I can’t wait. The English and the Aussies have got a big rivalry and we kicked their arses last year to regain the Ashes, so I’m looking forward to kicking Katsidis’s arse to win the title.”
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