By William Mackay: Lightweight Kevin Mitchell (32-1, 24 KO’s) reignited his stalled career last night with an 8th round TKO of number #2 ranked WBC contender John Murray (31-1, 18 KO’s) with an 8th round TKO in Liverpool. After the fight, Mitchell talked of wanting to avenge his defeat against Michael Katsidis from a year ago and then go after a world title.

This made for good soundbites, but that’s about it. Mitchell looked to be about the same fighter that lost to Katsidis last year. He’s still very hittable and still has a nasty habit of retreating to the ropes to cover up. This is how Katsidis destroyed him. Mitchell got hit, retreated to the ropes, tried to cover up and was quickly blasted out in a third round KO.

Katsidis does well against fighters in the class of Mitchell. The guys that Katsidis struggles with are world class boxer/punchers like Juan Manuel Marquez and Robert Guerrero, and Mitchell isn’t nearly as good as either of those guys. Instead of going after a fight against Katsidis, Mitchell needs to focus on going after some weaker, slower fighters that he matches up well with.

If he can pick up a few good wins, he’ll get ranked high enough to go after one of the soon to be vacant titles after Marquez vacates his WBA and WBO titles. Mitchell would have a great opportunity to take on someone like Miguel Acosta or Mercito Gesta for one of the belts. I think both of those guys would be a headache for Mitchell because of their big power but I still think Mitchell might have a small chance of winning.