By Scott Gilfoid: #7 WBC Kevin Mitchell (38-2, 28 KOs) will be facing #6 WBC Daniel Estrada (32-3-1, 24 KOs) this Saturday night in their WBC lightweight eliminator bout at the O2 Arena in London, UK. Mitchell and Estrada will be fighting for the vacant WBC Silver lightweight title.

For the 30-year-old Mitchell, it might be a last shot for him to get another world title shot. He was whipped badly the last time he fought for a world title in 2012 when he was stopped in the 4th round by former WBO lightweight champion Ricky Burns.

With the lightweight division improving all the time, it’ll take Mitchell too long to come back from a loss to Estrada, and it’s highly doubtful that Mitchell will ever get another shot unless his promoter Eddie Hearn matches him against only soft jobs to make sure that Mitchell doesn’t get beaten again.

“I have been fighting now for 20 years and my dream has always been to be a world champion — now is the time for that shot at the title,” Mitchell said. “I am mature now. I have no longer got any boyish ways about me and I am ready for that title. Time is running out. I have 40 fights. If I can get that world title, then I might have another three or four more years left in the game to make some serious money and call it a day.”

The winner of the Mitchell-Estrada fight will become the IBF mandatory challenger to IBF champion Jorge Linares. He’s a good champion but he’s had chin problems in the last in getting stopped by Sergio Thompson and Antonio DeMarco.

Mitchell took a terrible pounding in his last fight against Ghislain Maduma last May. Mitchell somehow was able to stay upright despite taking a vicious beating. In the 11th, Maduma was too tired to fight and was stopped by Mitchell, but it wasn’t a great performance from Mitchell. He basically won only because Maduma had horrible stamina and was too tired to fight. For Mitchell, this was his fifth straight win after his knockout loss to Burns.

Estrada is coming off of a 9th round knockout loss to Omar Figueroa in his last fight in August of last year. Estrada was winning that fight and appeared to be on his way to a stoppage win when he was knocked down and stopped by Figueroa. It was a fight that Estrada could have won if he hadn’t gotten clipped by Figueroa.

“Right now it’s make or break for me, I know that and that’s what makes it more interesting,” Mithcell said. “If I can’t beat this kid, I might as well go and get a day job. If I lose this, there won’t be much more left in the sport for me. So it’s 100 percent a fight I have to win and I really do fancy myself to beat him. My maturity of mind will be a strong asset for me.”

I hate to say it but I don’t think it’s going to go too well for Mitchell on Saturday night. Estrada is tough, smart, powerful and dare I say talented. Mitchell is going to be out of his class and taking a beating in this fight. Estrada will make sure this doesn’t go to the cards because he won’t want to put himself in the position of possibly getting robbed.