Kevin Mitchell had to earn a reprieve from his impulsiveness.
His career was one of the many victims of his private life unravelling but, even after a series of run-ins with the police, nobody ever abandoned hope with Mitchell. The escapades tended to be drink-related and caused by a lack of inhibition rather than malevolence. He was seeking refuge from the collapse of his family.
His upbringing in the East End of London was no shelter from the rough edges of working-class life. He remains rooted in that background, and one of his closest friends lost half an ear in a street fight. As the relationship with the mother of his two children began to break down, Mitchell increasingly turned to drink. During the preparations for his fight against Michael Katsidis in 2010, he was staying out until 2am partying. The consequence was the first defeat of his career.
Any social life can stray out of bounds, but Mitchell was also unable to evade darker episodes. Ahead of his return to the ring against John Murray in July last year, he and his mum were arrested at home on suspected drug offences, although they were never charged. There was also a drink-driving incident and police found a hidden knife when they pulled Mitchell's car over on another occasion. He received community service and a curfew order for the latter which prevented him from fighting for the world lightweight title.
Having defeated Murray, Mitchell was scheduled to face Brandon Rios for the World Boxing Association belt in New York. He was unable to travel because of the community service, and Murray replaced him. He lost a heavily one-sided contest to the American, while Mitchell watched the fight from home. It ought to have been a moment of reflection.
He could still tell fresh stories then of spending £3000 in one night in his local pub buying drinks for everyone, then giving £980 to a homeless person on his way home. The generosity was reckless, and another expression of the hopelessness he felt. His life had run out of control. Mitchell often drank enthusiastically between bouts, but it began to spiral out of control. His regrets would have centred on the separation from his children, but those around him would also have been exasperated at the waste of an extensive talent.
It took an outsider to break up the routine of Mitchell's decline. Bill Ives is a multi-millionaire who made his fortune from the steel industry but was well-versed in the edginess of the East End, having once worked at a pub owned by the Kray twins. He recognised the troubled spirit of Mitchell and became a mentor figure. The stability allowed Mitchell to reconnect with the important aspects of his life.
"It makes you a better person, it makes you know a little bit about life," the 27-year-old says of his troubled past. "I've not had it easy my whole life. My old mum always says that I'll learn things the hard way, and I have. My problem when I was having a lot of troubles was my family life. I split from them and it killed me being away from the kids but for the past two years I've been having them four days a week. It's all been good in that sense. I've come back, I'm training really well."
The words might be ominous, since Mitchell is lean and sharp-eyed. The boxing gym tends to expose a fighter's true state, and there is little cause for reassurance to Ricky Burns, who defends his World Boxing Organisation lightweight title against Mitchell on Saturday night at the SECC. The Englishman can be a ferocious puncher, and is able to combine that power with a rare technical ability. Opponents must also wonder, though, if he will enter the ring without any personal baggage.
Mitchell insists he will. A period of isolation was necessary, and Ives took him to Montana for two weeks, where he worked out in the mountains. Mitchell speaks rapidly and bluntly, with a rough charm. His career once looked on an implacable course towards greatness, but the detours have been painful. Facing Burns, whose personal life is a stark contrast to his opponent's, since he is mostly teetotal and still works part-time in a sports shop in Coatbridge, is an opportunity for Mitchell to reclaim that old promise.
"I've been fighting since I was a kid," he says. "I know I'm capable of winning this fight. When you're prepared for it, it's easy, init. It's when you've not prepared that you've got a problem, that's when you're in trouble. I've had a good camp and I'm ready to go in there and do my job."
The intrigue is not forced, since a contest between Burns and Mitchell is too close to call. The Scot needs to control the fight, and keep Mitchell too busy to throw one of his devastating punches. Burns is capable of that kind of discipline, but Mitchell will not be easily contained.
"Burns is a good champion," says Mitchell's trainer, Jimmy Tibbs. "But our time has come."
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