Upton Park To Host Mitchell WBO Fight

In great news for East Londoners and British boxing fans in general, Kevin Mitchell is set to fight Australian Michael Katsidis for the WBO interim lightweight title at the real home of the east-end West Ham United's Upton Park ground.

However the fight could have an added twist as Dagenham fighter Mitchell, 25, is likely to end up fighting for the full WBO crown, with current champion Juan Manuel Marquez expected to vacate.

That would be even better for Mitchell and would help cap a spectacular moment early on in his boxing career, in which he has already recieved praise from ledgends such as Barry McGuigan and Ricky Hatton.

Speaking to the BBC, Mitchell spoke of his pride at fighting at ground where he used to go as a boy supporting the Irons. "I grew up watching West Ham play and I still can't believe I'm going to be fighting there," said Mitchell.

"The fans in the East End are very special people, and to get the opportunity to fight in front of them is a dream come true," added Mitchell, who is unbeaten in 31 pro bouts. Boxing and football are a way of life around here, and I think you are going to see an amazing event on 15 May with everyone turning out to see it."

Mitchell has come up the ranks quickly and has had several televised bouts on sky and itv4 over the last couple of years so winning a World Title would be brilliant for him. Boxing has suffered great criticism in the last 4-5 years with the heavyweight division in decline with very few talented fighters.

At cruiserwieght, flyweight, welterweight - basically the other divisions aside from heavyweight, the sport has great stars and we're blessed in the UK to have so many top class boxers gaining national publicity. The bout was set up when Mitchell knocked out Ignacio Mendoza at Wembley in February, having previously beaten Colombian Breidis Prescott, who in turn had knocked out Khan inside a round.

The Upton Park show will be Frank Warren's biggest since Joe Calzaghe's super-middleweight unification fight against Mikkel Kessler at Cardiff's Millennium Stadium in 2007. Warren added: "There is a long history of boxing in the East End stretching back to the days of Ted 'Kid' Lewis and London has a great history of producing boxers. "The response from all over London has been fantastic. We've waited a long time for a London fighter who can fill stadiums, and Kevin can be that man."

Mitchell's opponent, Katsidis though will not be a pushover with a record of 26 wins out of 28 fights. 21 of those wins have come from knock out with the Aussie only losing two of those fights.
Those losses came in 2008 againgst respected fighters Joel Casamayor from Cuba and Mexican-American Juan Díaz. British fans are familiar with Kastidis after his five-round slug-fest against Luton's Graham Earl at Wembley Arena in February 2007. Katsidis recovered well to beat former two-weight world champion Jesus Chavez last April and claim the WBO interim belt from Vicente Escobedo last September on a split decision.

And Mitchell added: "Katsidis is a great fighter but he better bring a good cutsman because I'm planning on busting him up real bad. It will be a proper tear-up on the night, then we'll have a good old knees-up afterwards." Everyone at SportTrades hopes that the local boy will do good and bring the world title back to the East End. After that perhaps Las Vegas may be The Dagenham Destroyer's next destination for a fight in the States.