S.F.'s Mitchell Passes First Test, Defeats Kelly 10-6 to Advance to Nationals Round of 16

By Ryan Maquiñana
Norcalboxing.net

S.F.'s LaRon Mitchell moved on to the round of 16 with a decision over Danny Kelly. (Team Mitchell)

San Francisco's LaRon Mitchell passed his first test as the top seed in the super heavyweight tournament Tuesday afternoon with a 10-6 victory over Washington, D.C.'s Danny Kelly at the USA Boxing National Championships in Fort Carson, Colo.

"It feels great to be back at Nationals where it all began, and I wanted to show I deserve that ranking," Mitchell said via telephone.



The fight was a rematch of their meeting at last year's Nationals, where a relatively unknown Mitchell upset then-No. 2 Kelly on the cards en route to a shocking silver medal days later.

"Danny can crack, but he was trying to sit and catch me coming in, not engaging, sort of like our first match," Mitchell said. "Basically I controlled the fight with my movement, circling when necessary. When we engaged, I got him with my double jab. It was a slow-paced fight."

Despite world-class trainer Barry Hunter's presence in Kelly's corner, the S.F. State alum was far from intimidated, citing his own coach's abilities.

"Danny's going to make some money one day in the pros, and Barry Hunter's a great trainer, but they don't know I got Jimmy Ford," Mitchell said. "He took me in at Ring of Fire Gym from the very beginning when he didn't have to, and he's like my family. What more do you want than someone who puts his own fighter first before he puts himself?"

Mitchell advances to the round of 16 against Carson's George Faavae, a former UNLV defensive lineman who scored a second-round stoppage of New York's Matthew Spack in his preliminary bout.

"Faavae's a slugger," Mitchell said. "He swings for the fences with that David Tua power. He can move you even if you block his punches, so the plan is to outbox him."

Boxing correspondent Ryan Maquiñana is a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America and Ring Magazine’s Ratings Advisory Panel. E-mail him at rmaquinana@gmail.com, check out his blog at norcalboxing.net, or follow him on Twitter: @RMaq28.