WITH this weekend offering a lean selection of matchups, to put it mildly, it is only right that we cast our attention on an intriguing encounter between Ty Mitchell and Sean Hemphill.
The two all-action super-middleweight operators will square off this Saturday, featuring on a Misfits Boxing card – please, bear with us – at the Manchester Arena, England.
While Misfits, traditionally speaking, offers a bonkers world of tag-team ‘fights’ and poorly matched influencer dust-ups, it just so happens that, buried beneath all the chaos, there is, in fact, a genuine 50/50 clash.
It was not so long ago that Hemphill, 19-2 (11 KOs), outpointed Mark Jeffers, albeit via a razor-thin majority decision, in what was considered a sizable upset on away soil.
Based on that performance, one can only suspect that, against Mitchell, 4-2 (3 KOs), whose reputation has largely been enhanced by a series of sparring stories, involving the likes of Tyson Fury and Dillian Whyte, ‘Silky’ is likely to pose a real threat.
For Mitchell, though, Hemphill represents little more than a stepping stone, high enough to elevate him closer towards a bold stab at world honours.
“I’m only interested in getting to the top as quickly as possible,” the 34-year-old told Boxing News. “Time’s not on my side – I’m getting quite old – so my aim is to fight someone in the top five [of the world] for my next fight [after Hemphill].
“My best years are behind me – I know that; I’m not stupid – but I’ve still got a lot left in the tank.
“If I can’t beat Sean Hemphill, I’m not going to go anywhere in boxing, so the reason I’ve taken this fight is because I’ve got no other choice.
“I think Hemphill’s a good fighter, but he’s not in my league. I don’t think he’s a better boxer than me; I don’t think he hits harder than me and I don’t think he’s got a better chin than me.
“He might have a better [gas] tank than me, because he’s done a few more ten-rounders, but I’m a completely different fighter to Mark Jeffers. I punch a lot harder than Jeffers.
“If I hit [Hemphill] with the same shots that Jeffers landed, I’ll knock him spark out.”
Mitchell certainly appears to have the power on his side while, by his own admission, the greater momentum remains firmly in Hemphill’s favour.
And of course, any mention of a possible world title shot, for either man, sounds utterly farcical, yet the winner of their fight is nonetheless set to earn himself a world ranking with one of the four major sanctioning bodies.
Based on the level of his domestic rivals, too, Mitchell believes that, should he beat Hemphill, a future mandatory position is by no means out of the question.
“You’ve got Callum Simpson – a great fighter; I really rate him – and you’ve got Ben Whittaker, another good fighter,” the Derby man highlighted.
“Neither of them have boxed someone as good as Sean Hemphill [in the pro ranks], whereas I’ve come back and jumped straight into the lion’s den.
“By the end of next year, I want to be in a mandatory position for a world title shot.
“Based on the fighter that I plan to call out after beating [Hemphill], you will see that I’m willing to take risks.”
As we eagerly await Mitchell’s call-out, it must be assumed that the likes of Christian Mbilli, Diego Pacheco and Osleys Iglesias – all of whom, highly-ranked contenders – are on his radar at 168lbs.
But first – as in, before he targets what would be an almighty step-up in class – it will be interesting to see how Mitchell fares against a solid, yet unremarkable, super-middleweight.
