Katsidis loss will inspire me to victory over Burns, says Mitchell
WBO lightweight challenger Kevin Mitchell has vowed to use his only professional defeat as his motivation to overcome champion Ricky Burns when they fight in Glasgow on 22 September.
Mitchell suffered a third-round stoppage loss to Australia’s Michael Katsidis in May 2010 but has won his last two fights since then and believes it is the pain of that defeat that has inspired him to improve.
“Since the Katsidis fight I’ve never looked back. Everything is perfect now,” said Mitchell.
“I can’t get up for the normal fights, I want the big names and the big names only. They’re the ones that deliver the big money.
“I want the names like [WBA champion] Brandon Rios. Ricky Burns generates more money than any other fight in this country so that’s why I’m fighting him. After this fight we’ll go on from there.”
Burns was the superior fighter when sparring Mitchell last year but the latter is adamant that it was only his lack of fitness that allowed the Scot to flourish.
“I wasn’t fit when we sparred,” he said. “He was and got the better of me. He was too fit and strong at the time.”