Arreola v Mitchell

So the American Heavyweight match-up between life-long boxer and ex collegiate football player ended in a KO-1 demolition to the boxer. Who'd have thunk it?

The perennially "re-focused" "serious" "no more messin' around" Arreola showed up, and patiently went to work at removing Seth Mitchell's head from his shoulders. Mitchell was saved from that fate by good refereeing, as it immediately became clear that the gulf in skills was so large that there was only one possible outcome.

I feel for Mitchell. Some people online seem to treat him with only disdain; how dare this man have dreams? How dare this man work hard and want to achieve a seemingly impossible dream of transitioning to another sport? How dare he try?

Offensively, he looked sharp enough in the few combinations he let go in the first minute. Solid jab and straight fight, it's what you would expect of a recent convert just trying his best. Mitchell's problems, and there are many which cannot be addressed now in this 30s, are a complete lack of defence, compounded by a near inability to take a punch.

Heavyweights hit hard. We know this. Any heavyweight can get knocked out by nearly any other heavyweight. Just look at the early KO losses on Wladimir Klitschko's resume and you'll see that he reacts the same way to any human who gets hit very hard by guy weighing 200-250lbs. He gets put to sleep.

But whereas a world class fighter like Wlad has experience and skills to fall back on to get him through the moments of doubt following another destruction, Seth Mitchell does not. He just has an emptying dressing room and his thoughts to comfort him as he ponders whether getting badly KO'd every few months is going to be a good way to make a living. Hopefully, he will see the light and forge a successful career elsewhere, in a sport that does not require him to have perfect knees (the reason for the demise of a promising Football career) or a resilient chin.

Arreola found himself yet again at a crossroads in his career, and he passed the test. He will fight on, and if he fights regularly he will be all the better for it. A rematch with Stiverne has been mooted, and one I would be happy to see. That was a legitimately good heavyweight fight the first time round; the sport could do with a few more of those.