Seth Mitchell vs. Johnathon Banks
Most fans who came to Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City this past Saturday came to watch the number one American heavyweight prospect in the sport. Big time boxing fans saw Seth Mitchell as an athletic freak who could really fight and were very excited about what could be. They looked at Johnathon Banks as a smart fighter but one who posed no threat to Mitchell. How wrong they were.
The 1st round went off as most people expected. Mitchell came out swinging hard and often, and Banks didn't throw many punches at all. Mitchell looked very impressive in the 1st and even had Banks badly hurt on two different occassions. To most people it didn't seem that Banks would survive the round, and even if he did his chance of making it past two didn't look great. The bell to end the 1st round rang and the fighters went to their respective corners.
Again Mitchell came out looking strong but Banks seemed to recover quickly from his 1st round thrashing. Then in a move that shocked everyone watching the fight Banks dropped Mitchell with a vicious left uppercut and right hand. Mitchell beat the ten count but was badly hurt. This is where the limited boxing backround of Mitchell really showed. He didn't tighten his defense and didn't know how to properly clinch his opponent to stop more punches from landing. Then again Banks dropped Mitchell with a good right hand, and again Mitchell beat the count. This time however referee Eddie Cotton was telling him "show me something, you need to show me something." Mitchell could do no such thing. His legs were gone and his head was dazed, Banks landed another flurry of punches sending Mitchell to the canvass for the third time in the round. Cotton jumped in and ended the fight. Fans everywhere were in utter shock.
This night was supposed to be all Mitchell. He was supposed to walk through Banks on his way to bigger and better things, namely a fight with one of the Klitschko brothers. Now it seems a fight of that magnitude will never happen for Mitchell. This loss to Banks who is a good fighter but definatley not a superstar could forever stunt the career of Mitchell. No longer is he the number one American heavyweight prospect, no longer is he talked about as a possible Klitschko opponent, no longer are fans excited about what could be. It seems we have seen what could be, an athletic fighter with a ton of power but no chin and no ring intelligence. The only bright spot was after he was knocked down for the first time he got to his feet and threw a punch that would have knocked Banks through the floor, unfortunatley it didn't land. For his part Mitchell vowed to come back better then ever and refine his skills, but to most fans the hopes of having an American heavyweight champion are over.
Even fans who were rooting for Mitchell had to have a smile on their faces when Banks won. What this man had gone through over the past few weeks, it was amazing he even stepped into the ring. First came the heartbreaking loss of his longtime trainer and mentor Emanuel Steward whom Banks had been with since he was 15 years old. Banks had also been an assistant trainer under Steward for Wladimir Klitschko and after he passed Banks was chosen to be the head trainer for the Klitschko-Wach fight. This all took place two weeks before one of the biggest fights in Banks' career. Then the weekend before the fight Banks was in detroit to attend the memorial service for Steward, something that surely weighed heavy on his heart. If Banks lost this fight he had every excuse in the world, and no one would have questioned him about it. Fans would have understood that his head just wasn't in the fight, that more important things had happened recently and boxing was the farthest thing from his mind. But Banks who had dedicated the fight to Steward wasn't planning on dissapointing his longtime trainer. He walked away with the biggest win of his career and a possible title fight within his sights. Somewhere the great Emanuel Steward was watching this fight and I can't help but think that when Banks dropped Mitchell each time a loud "Oh My God" rang out and Emanuel was on his feet cheering. He would be proud.
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