By Scott Gilfoid: WBO lightweight interim champion Michael Katsidis (27-2, 22 KO’s) handed top lightweight challenger Kevin Mitchell (31-1, 23 KO’s) his first loss of his career last Saturday night, stopping him in the 3rd round in front of 30,000 of his British fans at Upton Park, West Ham, London. Well, I knew this was going to happen as soon as the fight was signed between Mitchell and Katsidis. I’d noted that Mitchell, in his previous fights, had fought basically soft opposition and had built up an inflated record. Granted, Mitchell beat Breidis Prescott, the Amir Khan conqueror, last year, but I wasn’t at all impressed with Mitchell’s performance in that fight.

I figured that Mitchell would run all night long against Katsidis like he had against Prescott and at least last until the 6th before getting knocked out by Katsidis. But I didn’t figure on Mitchell’s pride kicking in and causing him to try and slug with Katsidis at the start of the 3rd round. As it turns out, it was a pitiful mistake, because Katsidis wasted no time in blasting Mitchell with a hard left hand that hurt Mitchell, causing him to back up against the ropes and cover up briefly.

The weird thing was how Mitchell reacted while hurt. He turned sideways on the ropes, covering up like he had lost his senses completely. Just looking at Mitchell, it seemed like he had lost his memory how to fight, because turning your back on your opponent is a schoolyard move and not something you see in professional boxing. But whatever the case, Mitchell got it together and started clinching Katsidis. But instead of holding on for dear life and trying to ride out the round while his head cleared, Mitchell started trading with Katsidis. Again, it was another amateurish move on Mitchell’s part. Katsidis quickly backed Mitchell up against the ropes and was teeing off with hooks and big right hands.

At this point, Mitchell again got turned around and was facing sideways. Just when Katsidis was about to finish Mitchell off, referee Dave Parris jumped in and separated the two. I have no idea why Parris did that because there was no reason to separate the two fighters at all, because Katsidis was punching Mitchell silly while Mitchell was turning his head and body sideways. The move by Parris saved Mitchell temporally, because the action was restarted at the center of the ring.

Still, it was a really word move on Parris’ part, reminding me of how Ricky Hatton once got a time out to have his shoelaces re-tied moments after getting hurt in the 8th round of his fight with Juan Lazcano in 2008. In that case, Hatton was able to survive the round after having the time out for his shoelaces. Luckily for Katsidis, it didn’t mess him up. Katsidis was going to get Mitchell out anyway. The referee could have stopped the fight a million times while Katsidis was pounding the stuffing out of Mitchell, but he was going to get taken out anyway. There was no escape for Mitchell.

Katsidis then continued to pummel Mitchell until he caught him against the ropes and tagged him with a big left hook that badly hurt Mitchell again, causing him to turn sideways for the third time in the round. The referee then jumped in between the two fighters and put a stop to the fight before Katsidis could finish off Mitchell. There’s no question it was a quick stoppage. Had the fight been allowed to continue, Katsidis would have no doubt put Mitchell down after landing a few more chopping punches. It’s too bad that Parris stopped it, because it didn’t give Mitchell a chance to try and recover nor did it give Katsidis an opportunity to put the finishing touches on the fight.

I think Mitchell made a big mistake of trying to slug with Katsidis. He should have ran like he did against Prescott. I thought Mitchell did a great job in the 2nd round when he was moving and jabbing. Mitchell’s jab is one of the best I’ve seen from a fighter. It kind of reminds me of the jab of IBF/WBO heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko. If Mitchell had just stayed on the outside using that weapon alone, he would have made it interesting. But Mitchell got caught up with the crowd and tried to pay Katsidis back with a hard shot after Katsidis had tagged him moments earlier.

At the end of the 2nd round, Katsidis tagged Mitchell with a hard combination that got his attention. I had a feeling that Mitchell would be out for revenge at the start of the 3rd and sure enough, I was correct. He looked hot-headed and out for revenge and walked into the wheelhouse of Katsidis and got tagged with a hard hand. From there, it pretty much over because of Mitchell’s poor reaction to getting hurt. A smarter, more experienced fighter might have survived the round, but Mitchell did everything wrong. The chain of events led directly to him getting stopped. I think Mitchell can improve but he needs to learn a lot and use his head instead of his heart when fighting.

He doesn’t have the power, the frame or the chin to brawl with the harder punchers in the lightweight division and needs to fight smart. I think he would be better off moving down in weight to the super featherweight division, where I think he would have a better chance. But if Mitchell does stay at lightweight, he needs to fight on his back foot and focus on his jab alone to win his fights. He can occasionally throw some power shots but I wouldn’t do it until his opponents are softened up by his jabs the same way that Klitschko does with his opponents.

I think Mitchell should stick to fighting at the local and European level for another three to four years until he learns how to fight better, and learns to keep a cooler head while in combat. He might do well at the local level, but I’m not too sure about that. If he fights the way he did against Katsidis, I can see Mitchell getting stopped again in the future.