By Peter Wells: What was meant to be the perfect night for British fighter Kevin Mitchell and in the perfect setting it suddenly went all pear shaped in the third round. Kevin was boxing brilliantly and was just starting to get into a great rhythm when everything fell to bits with one big shot from Australian banger Michael Katsidis. It was a true heart breaker in front of all Mitchell’s beloved East London supporters at West Ham United Football Club’s ground.

Unfortunately for Kevin he was caught very early in the 3rd round and after holding on he tried to trade with an excellent puncher. Katsidis was caught with flush punches but he’s an extremely tough customer and just kept coming forward. It looked like Mitchell could see out the round, but with just over a minute remaining he was caught flush with a short sharp left on the ropes and his defence was gone and another big right-left ended the fight.

The way Mitchell was lying against the ropes completely gone reminded me of Jose Luis Castillo when he was stopped by Diego Corrales in their first fight – though it wasn’t as dramatic. Mitchell didn’t complain after the fight of an early stoppage and when you see it in slow motion how could you. There was no need to let Mitchell get seriously hurt in there and Davis Parris made the right choice to step in.

Katsidis was determined all the time to repeat what he did 3 years ago at Wembley against Graham Earl, and he did and he deserves a lot of credit. He pressured Mitchell into a mistake and made sure that he wasn’t making it through the round. Would Mitchell had recovered if he had survived? I honestly don’t know but it would have been a long night. One thing I do know is that Mitchell should have taken a knee or held on when hurt and not trade. This proved that don’t always go with your instincts, it was something that Kevin will regret and feel he should have gone safety first.

Katsidis showed how destructive he can be and needs to test it against other fighters from 135 to 140. One thing they’ll learn is that he is to always be taken seriously and don’t trade with him unless you’re willing to face the consequences. He has a big chance to take on any of the top 135 pounders, including Juan Manuel Marquez, Humberto Soto, and could also move up to Light Welterweight and try to take command at a higher weight.

Mitchell said he’ll be back this summer and I don’t feel it will have taken too much out of him physically, but he will be badly scarred mentally. A return fight will most likely be against a decent but beatable opponent to get himself back on track.