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"The rest gave me a chance to reflect on things," Mitchell said. "I knew when I came back that I wanted to be the Sharmba of old. So, I concentrated on getting the kinks out and doing the things that I had always done. It is hard to stay off for a year and then get back into fighting shape."
Since mounting a comeback, Mitchell has defeated all four of his opponents, including three via 10-round decisions.
"There is nothing I want more than to fight for the title again," said Mitchell, who envisions a possible move to the welterweight division. "I can still make 140 pounds pretty easily, but I feel I can be just as strong at 147. Whatever it takes to get a title shot, I will do.''
It is that kind of attitude that also best describes Mitchell, who never has been intimidated by anyone or anything.
Never was this clearer than on Oct. 10, 1998, when Mitchell received his first world title shot. Not only did he have to pry the World Boxing Association (WBA) super lightweight belt away from well-regarded champion, Khalid Rahilou, but he also had to do it in Rahilou's homeland of France.
Coming in as an underdog, Mitchell knocked the champion down twice in the second round. The challenger also dropped Rahilou once in the third and again in the seventh en route to winning a lopsided 12-round decision by the scores 118-105, 116-107 and 116-110.
Mitchell's "no fear" attitude also was on display Sept. 16, 1995, in Las Vegas. At the weigh-in when Mitchell's opponent failed to show up and Terronn Millett's foe did not arrive on time, the two future world champions started running their mouths at each other.
The following night, the two proud fighters met in the ring to settle their differences. In the first round, Millett put Mitchell on the canvas. Mitchell got up, however, and pounded his opponent until the referee stepped in and stopped the fight later in the round.
…. 2 The son of a blue-collar worker, Mitchell first stepped into a gym at age eight in 1978.
"My father just took me past a gym," Mitchell said. "In the beginning, boxing was just another sport to me, and something else to keep me out of trouble.''
By the following year, Mitchell was a regular. Still, growing up in a family that emphasized education over everything else, he attended Howard and Maryland universities before finally turning his sights permanently to the sweet science.
After compiling an outstanding 153-7 amateur record, including a victory over Paulie Ayala, and winning eight local Golden Gloves championships and a Junior Olympics in 1985 at 106 pounds, the southpaw turned pro at age 18 on Sept. 23, 1988, in Atlantic City. In his debut, he stopped Ed Colon in the third round.
Mitchell streaked to 30 additional successive victories following his pro debut, including an eight-round decision over former two-time World Boxing Council (WBC) junior lightweight champion Rafael "Bazooka" Limon (51-18-2 going in) on March 8, 1990. Broadcast on network television, the fight garnered Mitchell more national exposure than he expected when Limon pulled down his trunks.
In another noteworthy victory, Mitchell recorded a 10-round decision over former WBA and International Boxing Federation (IBF) 130-pound titleholder champion Rocky Lockridge (44-8 going in) on April 22, 1992.
After knocking Chad Broussard (34-0 going in) down three times en route to a first-round TKO to capture the North American Boxing Federation (NABF) lightweight title on Nov. 6, 1993, Mitchell, then the WBC No. 2 contender, lobbied and received a title elimination match against No. 1 contender Leavander Johnson. Mitchell was offered a $50,000 step-aside fee to allow Johnson to fight then-WBC 135-pound champion Miguel Angel Gonzalez, with a guarantee to fight the winner, but Mitchell refused.
Mitchell met Johnson (20-0-1 going in) on March 18, 1994, in Las Vegas. The WBC No. 2 contender effectively outboxed his opponent to build an early points lead, but Johnson came on strongly and floored Mitchell with a right hand to the chin in the eighth. Mitchell was counted out at 1:33 of the round. Entering the round, Mitchell led by the scores 67-66 twice and trailed, 65-68, on the other.
"I do not know if I took the guy lightly, or had just been taking things for granted because I was undefeated," Mitchell said. "However, I did a terrible job of handling Johnson's pressure that night."
Mitchell also lost his next start when then-unknown Stevie Johnston (11-0 going in) scored a ninth-round TKO on June 21, 1994, in Las Vegas. Once again, Mitchell got off to a quick start and was effective early with his speed and movement, but Johnston kept the pressure on and gradually wore him down. Johnston went on to win the WBC lightweight title.
However, Mitchell rebounded and knocked out his next eight opponents, all within five rounds. By the time his winning streak reached 11, Mitchell had earned his title shot against Rahilou.
In his initial WBA defense, Mitchell registered a 12-round unanimous decision over Pedro Saiz (23-4-3 going in) on Feb. 6, 1999, in Washington, D.C.
Overcoming a barrage of low blows, Mitchell captured nearly every round on two of the three judges' scorecards to win by the scores 120-105, 119-107 and 115-112. Despite hurting his right hand in the fourth, Mitchell scored the contest's only knockdown in the fifth.
"I may have broken my hand throwing a hook," Mitchell said. "I wanted to knock Saiz out, but it was not meant to be. You hate to get hit in the groin. It hurt and made me mad."
Mitchell also recorded 12-round decisions in his three other title defenses against Reggie Green (April 24, 1999), Elio Ortiz (Nov. 13, 1999) and Felix Flores (Sept. 16, 2000).
Even though he floored Green (30-2 going in) in Washington, D.C., the bout represented his toughest contest among the three between April 1999 and September 2000.
"I knew Green was going to come back," said Mitchell, who received the nod in a close, hard match by the scores 116-111, 115-113 and 114-114 despite getting rocked several times with right hands. "Even though he was punching hard, I played it safe at the end."
Mitchell retained his title for a third time by outpointing Ortiz (18-3 going in) in Las Vegas by the scores 118-108, 119-109, 114-112. The champion was forced to get up from a fourth-round knockdown against Flores, however, to win his fourth defense 116-111 twice and 116-113.
A 16-fight winning streak came to an abrupt end and Mitchell lost his WBA title when WBC champion Tszyu (25-1-1 going in) triumphed by seventh-round TKO in their unification bout in Las Vegas on Feb. 3, 2001.
Mitchell had suffered torn ligaments in his left knee while training, and entered the ring with his left leg numb. Despite the injury, the first three rounds were close, and Tszyu came on strongly in the fourth.
Tszyu, who threw Mitchell to the canvas several times throughout the rough and tumble fight, was penalized one point in the fourth for his antics. Mitchell, his nose bloodied in the second, was cut over the right eye in the sixth. He could not continue after the seventh, however, due to a knee injury. Tszyu led after seven rounds by the scores 68-64, 68-65 and 66-66.
Mitchell, who had surgery to repair a left anterior cruciate ligament two years earlier, indicated before the fight that his knee bothered him. Afterward, he said: "I did not want to stop. I could have won it in the later rounds. My corner stopped the fight, and I have to respect their decision, but it hurts."
Following the 13-month layoff, Mitchell returned to the ring on March 28, 2002, and won a hard-fought 10-round decision over Bernard Harris in Washington, D.C.
"I had surgery on my knee two weeks after the Tszyu fight. I had a partial torn hamstring, a partial torn LCL, and meniscus. It was almost the same thing that Michael Jordan did, but a little worse, because of the LCL and hamstring. The meniscus is really bad. I am fine now. It is not going to happen overnight, but rather in a month or two. I do not think this knee will ever be 100 percent.''
In his second fight since recovering from knee surgery, Mitchell earned a 10-round decision over Frank Houghtaling on July 2, 2002, in Washington, D.C. Cut over his right eye after an unintentional head butt, Mitchell was unable to score a knockdown. However, he displayed his famous quickness to win by the scores 100-90 twice and 98-92.
"I wanted to get in there with a tough guy," Mitchell said. "I could have had the knockout, but my left hand was hurt. I continued to land punches on the top of Houghtaling's head, and that messed up my left hand a little."
On Nov. 9, 2002, Mitchell recorded a 10-round majority decision over Vince Phillips in Oklahoma City, Okla. Technically sound in the early portions of the fight that featured two former world champions, Mitchell got the victory by the scores 95-95, 99-91 and 96-94.
"I have a great amount of respect for Phillips," Mitchell said. "I was surprised at the scoring. I thought I won it [unanimously]. Phillips put up a great fight."
In his most recent start, Mitchell scored a fourth-round TKO over Carlos Vilches Jan. 25, 2003, on SHOWTIME from Atlantic City. Recording his first victory inside of the distance since February 1998, Mitchell floored his opponent once in the opening round and twice in the fourth. Moments after knocking down Vilches for the last time, the bout was stopped.
Regarding his nickname, "Little Big Man" Mitchell said, "Ring magazine did an article on me when I was in college. At the time, I was going to the University of Maryland. I think I was probably the only thing going on at the university then because the basketball team was nothing, and the football team always was nothing. They called me the 'Little Big Man on Campus.' It just stuck with me."
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