Rematches happen all the time in the sport of boxing. Usually it’s the top tier fighters because the public is begging for the rematch and the promoters and networks listen to the paying public. Heavyweight contender Seth Mitchell is eager to get his revenge on Jonathan Banks after Banks knocked Mitchell down 3 times in their fight back in November, a TKO victory for Banks. The loss was devastating for Mitchell, who was thought to be the greatest American challenger to the heavyweight crown. Banks was a former cruiser weight with only 9 heavyweight fights under his belt before taking on Mitchell.
Ever the class guy, Mitchell, (25-1-1), says, “I win just the way I lose. I have no excuses for the last fight against Banks. I know what I did wrong and I do not expect to make the same mistakes this time.” That time will be on February 16 at the Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, to be shown on HBO. “I wanted this rematch. I asked my team to get me this rematch. I know this is a challenge…I cannot be off balance as I was in the last fight. I can’t swing my punches from off balance angles. I won the first round on all cards and I have to be patient and let the fight come to me. My aggressiveness got the best of me in November. My entire athletic back ground is being aggressive. This was a learning experience.”
Banks, not known as a big puncher, said he did not hit Mitchell with any hard shots and he “questions the chin of Mitchell.” The Mitchell-Banks rematch will be the co-main event with super star in the making Adrien Broner, a lightweight dynamo. Banks learned from the great Manny Steward, who was like a father to him. Banks, (29-1-1, 19 KO's), now trains the heavyweight champion Klitschko brothers and was once their sparring partner, so he knows boxing in and outside the ring.
Mitchell, a starting linebacker in college at Michigan State University has been fighting for only 6 years, counting amateur and pro. Mitchell told Lem Satterfield of Ring, “But I have been able to excel to a high level, and I've been able to fight on Showtime and HBO. I've been put in a situation where the stakes are high, and I’m still learning, but nobody has to tell me that I have to learn and to win at the same time if I want to continue to stay on this level.” Golden Boy Promotions and HBO, the companies that call the shots for the biggest names in boxing were disappointed, but not discouraged in Mitchell’s last performance, but they and Mitchell know, this fight in February will go a long way in determining the future of Seth Mitchell as a vital heavyweight contender. Please subscribe and read other stories I have written.
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