It took seven knee surgeries to convince Seth “Mayhem” Mitchell that he wasn’t meant to be an NFL linebacker. The Gwynn Park High graduate has had no such adversity in his boxing career, going 24-0-1 with 18 knockouts. Saturday night in Atlantic City and on HBO, Mitchell, the world’s 13th-ranked heavyweight, faces his toughest test to date. His bout against Chazz “The Gentleman” Witherspoon (30-2) is a measuring stick in his attempt to live up to the claim of his promoter Oscar De La Hoya that Mitchell is “the savior of American boxing.”
The comment has as much to do with Mitchell’s character as it does his skill. Though he gave up football after his sophomore year, Mitchell remained at Michigan State, earning a degree in criminal justice. He is a father of two who married his college sweetheart, Danielle.
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Entering the sport required a leap of faith. Danielle was in law school and eight months pregnant with the couple’s first child. Mitchell was working and taking graduate classes, preparing for a career in homeland security.
But watching a former college football foe, Notre Dame safety Tom Zbikowski, win his professional boxing debut convinced Mitchell he could thrive in the sport, so he began to try to convince Danielle.
“No matter what she thought in her heart and her mind, she supported me 100 percent,” Mitchell, 29, said. “That’s why I love her so much.”
Five years ago, Mitchell moved home to Maryland and walked into Old School Boxing in Clinton. Trainer Andre Hunter was immediately impressed.
“He was big, strong, fast — all the tools,” Hunter said. “But most of all, he was committed. He showed up every day. He was on time. He was ready to work. He had set a lot of high goals for himself. He wasn’t playing around.”
As an amateur boxer, Mitchell worked construction jobs, then as a crisis intervention teacher at Drew Freeman Middle School in Suitland. Shortly after turning pro, the 6-foot-2, 245-pound Mitchell became a full-time boxer, eventually signing with De La Hoya’s Golden Boy Promotions.
“I’ve got great management, a great team behind me,” Mitchell said. “I’m truly in position to just win.”
And perhaps become an American savior.
– Kevin Dunleavy
