Seth Mitchell Talks Revenge Over Johnathon Banks, What's Next
Seth Mitchell and wife photo by Anna John for StiffJab.com
by Gautham Nagesh
It has been an eventful year by an measure for Brandywine, Md. heavyweight Seth “Mayhem” Mitchell.
The former Michigan State linebacker suffered his first loss in November at the hands of Johnathon Banks, only to rebound by out-boxing a listless version of Banks last month in Brooklyn to win a 12-round decision. We spoke to Mitchell this week to get his reflections on his win, what comes next, and whether he pays any attention to criticism of how he won the fight.
“A year ago I was on a super high in the eyes of the people. I understand now, because in my last two fights, I got stopped and hurt…that boxing is very unforgiving and you’re only as good as your last fight," Mitchell told Stiff Jab on Tuesday via phone.
"What I’ve gone through in that year…coming back and winning that fight, it definitely taught me as a fighter. It didn’t show me anything about myself as a person, I know I stand tall under pressure. But it just made me a better boxer and had me thinking a lot more in the ring.”
Mitchell is well aware that some in the boxing world remain unconvinced after the win, especially since Banks had Seth in trouble again in the third round. But Mitchell can’t be blamed for Banks’s refusal to engage for most of the second half of the fight, and he makes no apologies for doing what was needed to win.
“We knew Johnathon Banks was an extremely good counterpuncher, but he wasn’t a very active fighter,” Mitchell explained. “He moves a lot and is considered a good boxer, but he doesn’t throw a lot of punches.”
“We knew we had to use our jab, we had to win the jab battle. Each round was a fight. We wanted to go out there and win each round. If he was going to let us use our jab and win the fight, then that’s what we were going to do,” Mitchell said.
“Unless he was going to attack, we were not taking risks because he was a good counterpuncher. I have a lot of power, but sometimes you can’t look for that,” Mitchell said, brushing aside the crowd’s catcalls.
“I was totally focused on winning that fight. The fans and the crowd and the commentators are going to say what they’re going to say, regardless. The fact remains, if I didn’t wint that fight, there’s a long way back up,” Mitchell said. “I’d much rather be in the position I’m in now, than them screaming ‘that was a hell of a fight’ and I lost that fight.”
“At same time, I know this is a business and an entertaining sport. I consider myself an entertainer. I just did what I had to do. I had to win that fight,” Mitchell concluded.
Almost everyone was surprised by Mitchell’s decision to move and box, Banks most of all. The plan was the right one, even if it made for a less scintillating spectacle than the typical Seth Mitchell fight. When Mitchell momentarily forgot himself and let his guard drop, Banks made him pay for it immediately.
“He hurt me in 3rd; I was throwing a jab and he timed it perfect. We knew that he had good skills, counterpunching and timing,” Mitchell said. But unlike November, Mitchell was able to hold on and survive the round, regain his composure, and resume control of the fight.
“A lot of people say I don’t have a chin, can’t take a punch. Any time you step in ring in heavyweight division, it doesn’t have to be a perfect shot, anyone can get hurt,” Mitchell said.
“There’s no quit in me. I won’t quit. I just continue to work on my defense, my head movement, and keeping my eyes on my opponent. A lot of times when I get hurt, my eyes are on the ground, not looking at them,” Mitchell said, an accurate description of his harrowing moments against Banks and Chazz Witherspoon.
“We just continue our work in gym, to better that situation. First and foremost, I’m always in great shape. When you’re in great shape, it allows you to recover a little bit faster. And it’s just experience. In the first fight, I got hurt, got up, and tried to brawl, but my legs weren’t under me. I grabbed him at waist and he backed up,” Mitchell said.
“This time I kept my hands high, got close, and tied him up real good, backed him up to ropes, and was able to survive the round. And this time I got hurt with only 30 seconds left in round, the first time there was a minute and a half left,” Mitchell said.
Even with the win, Mitchell thinks there is still plenty of room for improvement. He only took two weeks off before getting back into the gym, and has been studying the tape to pick up pointers.
“I’m still watching the fight, there were still a lot of times when my defense wasn’t up to par. [I need] more head movement and more angles. For most part I definitely kept my hands up a lot more,” Mitchell appraised.
“We definitely worked on being more patient. Patience, balance and distance. When you’re fighting on that Showtime, HBO level, the fighters take advantage of your mistakes. That improvement is the product of seven months of repetition,” Mitchell emphasized. “My trainer did a great job of mimicking Johnathon Banks. When he drops his hands, I wouldn’t come forward, I would force him to lead. He expected to me to come in there, be the bull, be aggressive. He definitely didn’t expect to get out-boxed.”
As for what comes next, Mitchell was characteristically coy about the business side of the sport. Those decisions will be left to manager Sharif Salim, advisor Al Haymon, and his promoter Golden Boy, likely with heavy input from the folks at Showtime. But the name Chris Arreola has been thrown around, and Mitchell said he believes he’s at most a year away from a shot at Wladimir or Vitali Klitschko.
“There are whispers about me fighting right now in September,” Mitchell said. “It would most likely be in the States. I’m not sure exactly, but it doesn’t matter to me. I’m not one to call out names, but I don’t duck anybody. Even in my last four fights, a lot of fighters out here are not fighting top-level competition” Mitchell said, referring to his two bouts against Banks, and his fights against Witherspoon and Timur Ibragimov.
“I think I’m about one or two fights away from a title shot. Everyone’s goal is to make some money in the sport and I think I’m knocking on the door,” Mitchell said with typical candor.
“I would like to be the headline fighter. Boxing is a lot of politics, and I watched the fight, it wasn’t the most exciting fight. So when you’re dealing with networks and things of that natures, it takes its course. If I have to headline in a co-main event, it is what it is, my main thing is, I have to go out there and perform,” Mitchell said.
The win also brought redemption for Mitchell’s trainer Andre Hunter, still largely unknown on the national scene. Mitchell was adamant that Hunter was not responsible for his loss, but gave him full credit for helping him avenge the loss and get back on track for a shot at the world championship.
“We’re not a team that has a fighter that’s one-dimensional. Styles make fights. He got a lot of grief, that he’s not a good trainer,” Mitchell said of Hunter. “The same thing I did this fight was the gameplan for the first fight. My trainer didn’t tell me to go out and lunge and reach and get overzealous and overly aggressive. But that’s just what I did, and I paid for it. Maybe I needed that to become a better fighter. The light went on.”
“I’m not saying it couldn’t happen again, but just saying it lessened the odds of that happening,” Mitchell said. At the end of the day, our favorite thing about the former Michigan State linebacker is his willing to cut through the bullshit that normally dominates boxing.
“He basically let me win the fight,” Mitchell said. “That whole experience made me a better fighter, more of a thinking fighter. Styles make fights, I’m the first one to say that wasn’t the most crowd-pleasing fight, but it was the fight I had to fight to win. I’ll definitely bring more Mayhem the next time I fight.”