By Ian S Palmer
Lightweights Kevin Mitchell of Britain and Daniel Estrada of Mexico will be squaring off for the vacant WBC Silver Championship this Saturday, January 31st at the O2 Arena in London, England. Both boxers need a win here if they hope to keep their dream of getting another world title shot alive. This 12-round bout can be seen live in the UK on Sky Sports 1. The 30-year-old Mitchell will climb into the ring with a record of 38-2 along with 28 Kos while the 29-year-old Estrada has a mark of 32-3-1 with 24 Kos to his name.
Mitchell has already had a couple of cracks at a world title belt, but was beaten by a third-round TKO by Michael Katsidis of Australia by in 2010 and he was then stopped in the fourth round by Ricky Burns of Scotland in 2012. Estrada has had one title shot when he was stopped in the ninth round for the WBC belt by Omar Figueroa last August. Mitchell comes into the fight at 5-feet-8-inches in height while Estrada is 2.5-inches taller. Estrada’s reach in 71.5-inches, which also gives him a three-inch advantage in that department. They both have about the same amount of pro experience as Mitchell has 205 rounds under his belt and Estrada has gone 187 rounds.
Both fighters have pretty good power, but their chins are questionable, especially Mitchell’s. Mitchell, a former Commonwealth and British Featherweight Champion, told the press that this is a must-win fight for him if he’s going to be taken seriously as a top contender. His only losses were the championship bouts against Katsidis and Burns, which more or less means he has a problem when he steps up in class. He also has problem making weight last year in a bout against the previously unbeaten Ghislain Maduma, but won it by an 11th-round TKO.
Estrada’s losses came against Figueroa, Reyes Sanchez by 12-round split decision in 2010 and a four-round split decision to Jose Emilio Perea back in 2005. The Mexican will be heading to London with fellow countryman Juan Manuel Marquez in his corner and Estrada’s hoping that Marquez’s experience will be enough to make the difference between a win and a loss. However, the trip to England could pose a bit of a problem for Estrada since he’s never won a bout outside of Mexico as of yet. His battle with Figueroa took place in California, and he looked impressive, but fell short.
Mitchell prefers to box and use his slick skills while Estrada doesn’t mind engaging in toe-to-toe brawls, which is how he fought Figueroa. However, he needs to realize that Mitchell possesses pretty good power in his hands and should make sure he can handle it before looking to turn the fight into a slugfest. There’s a lot of pressure on both of these guys since neither can really afford a loss at this stage in their careers, especially Mitchell since he’s the hometown boy.
Prediction
Mitchell is riding a five-bout winning streak since his defeat to Burns, but he’s got a tough opponent on his hands in Estrada. The Englishman can’t sit and wait for Estrada to attack as he needs to rack up as many points as possible since there’s a good chance this tilt could go to the scorecards. Mitchell has arguably faced the better opposition throughout his career and is treating this fight like it’s the last-chance saloon, so he should be able to do enough to pull out a win.
