By James Slater – Viewed by many as America’s best unbeaten young heavyweight contender, former football player turned world class fighter Seth Mitchell will be back in action on October 6th in Atlantic City, reports Ringtv.com. “Mayhem,” last seen hammering out an exciting 3rd-round TKO over a game Chazz Witherspoon in April, injured his hand in the slugfest and his fight with Johnathon Banks had to be postponed – it will now happen on Oct. 6th, on an HBO card that will also feature the red-hot Adrien Broner (against a TBA which will not now be Hank Lundy, who lost a decision to Raymundo Beltran last night)..
Mitchell told Ringtv that he is back hitting the heavy bag now, and that he hopes to get back into sparring in around three weeks – plenty of time before the fight in October. In former cruiserweight Banks, 28-1-1(18), Mitchell will be facing a guy he calls “crafty.” Banks is actually unbeaten as a heavyweight, having compiled a decent 8-0-1 record since moving up from cruiserweight where he failed in a challenge of IBF ruler Tomas Adamek.
The 30-year-old from Detroit might be able to ask Brandywine’s Mitchell, also aged 30, and 25-0-1(19) as a pro, some questions. Banks, who has been halted only by Adamek (in the 8th-round of a competitive fight), doesn’t figure to go early, that’s for sure. Having learnt a lot from sparring countless rounds with the Klitschko brothers (the eventual target for Mitchell, his manager telling Ring that the plan is for Seth to fight for Vitali’s expected to be vacated belt, and then fight Wladimir “for all of the belts, perhaps some time in late 2013”) Banks is a savvy defensive fighter.
Of course, there is a chance Banks may fall into “sparring partner mode” on October 6th (as he has appeared to have done in other, somewhat dull fights he’s had) but it will be Mitchell’s job to make Banks fight and then get to him with his shots and stop him. If Mitchell can do this and score an emphatic stoppage, he will have done well and made some sort of a statement.
I go for Mitchell to have to make do with a wide points win instead; keeping both his perfect record and his chances of landing a date with a Klitschko in the process.