The Hammer with Heart: Reflecting on the Career of the Retired Kevin Mitchell

In boxing, timing is everything. The sport is all about sensing the moment when in the ring and then reacting appropriately to it. In announcing his retirement, Kevin Mitchell showed timing is just as important when it comes to leaving the ring too.

On Wednesday, via a press release from his promoter, Matchroom Boxing, Mitchell (39-4, 29 KOs) revealed he was hanging up his gloves after 43 professional fights.

Training to face European lightweight champion Edis Tatli on March 19, he had a moment of clarity, per Sky Sports News HQ (h/t Isaac Robinson of Sky Sports): "I was on the punchbag and not enjoying it. Normally I love the punchbag but I really didn't have it in my heart any more to train and go at it."

Rather than keep on going, Mitchell made the decision to walk away from a sport that has been part of his life for more than two decades.

For the vast majority of us, retirement cannot come soon enough.

After the grind of working for years, there is a chance to relax and make the most of life. Free from the constraints of building your schedule around a job, time is no longer your enemy.

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For sportsmen and women, however, retirement means accepting they are not what they once were—and that there is no chance of ever getting back to the level they once reached.

Boxing isn't a job for a pro fighter—it is a way of life. Some find the adjustment away from the gym tough to cope with.

In announcing his decision to make a comeback in 2012, Ricky Hatton, a former world champion, said, per BBC Sport: "People say nice things about me but they don't know what's been going on in between my ears."

Like the end of a relationship, a retired boxer is left with lingering memories and a series of questions that are set to remain unanswered. Those thoughts can eat away at the toughest of men. Muhammad Ali couldn't walk away in time to save his health. The 47-year-old Roy Jones Jr. is still refusing to give in.

In calling it a day, Mitchell had to face up to the realisation he would never win a world title.

He was a British and Commonwealth champion at super featherweight, but for a plethora of different reasons, he fell short at the highest level.

When challenging Michael Katsidis for the interim WBO lightweight title in 2010, he was not in good shape physically or mentally. Issues at home and a lack of dedication to the cause cost him, as he later revealed to the Express: "I was living the life of half party boy, half pro boxer."

When challenging Ricky Burns, who held the full WBO belt in 2012, he quickly found out he had bitten off more than he could possibly chew. Burns was bigger and stronger, which led to a stoppage win in Round 4.

When challenging WBC champion Jorge Linares in May 2015, however, the stars seemed to be aligning for Mitchell.

With a commitment to his career that had been previously lacking, he reeled off six successive wins in response to the Burns defeat. He, along with promoter Eddie Hearn, also managed to persuade his Venezuelan opponent to travel to London for the fight.

For the vast majority of the bout, it looked set to be third time lucky for Mitchell.

He knocked down his rival in Round 5 while displaying the kind of skills that had marked him out as a future star when, as an amateur, he won an ABA title at the age of 18.

But Linares found a way to spoil the coronation of King Kevin in the English capital.

He nailed The Hammer repeatedly. Mitchell's face became a bloody mess, yet the most painful blow of them all came when the referee waved the contest off in Round 10 with the challenger in no fit state to continue.

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Mitchell's chance, his final chance, had gone. He was heroic in defeat, with Hearn telling Riath Al-Samarrai of the MailOnline: "What he did in there should never be forgotten because he proved he has the heart of a lion and that he is one of the best lightweights in the world."

Mitchell did return to the ring one more time, against Ismael Barroso for the vacant WBA interim lightweight title on Dec. 12, 2015, yet he looked a shadow of the fighter who had pushed Linares to the limit just less than seven months earlier.

Stopped in Round 5, his world title hopes were in tatters. Instead of preparing for a clash with newly crowned WBA champion Anthony Crolla, he was left considering his future.

He admitted in an exclusive interview with George Gigney of Boxing News in January 2016 that retirement had crossed his mind after the defeat. However, he added: "Everyone’s got their right to comment on things, but they don’t live my life."

The fighter's spirit within him wanted to carry on and prove people wrong.

But just a month later, Mitchell was done. That fighter's spirit had disappeared. Rather than go through the motions and risk tarnishing his achievements, he made the tough but correct call.

The official press release included the following quote from Mitchell: "I’ve been fighting for 22 years, it is a long time to be putting your body through all you have to do to get right for a fight and my body has said ‘enough is enough.’"

He showed great heart in losing that epic war with Linares, but it takes just as much bravery to turn your back on the chance to fulfil a boyhood dream. Mitchell will never be a world champion.

The sheer volume of messages on Twitter from those within the boxing industry showed not only Mitchell’s popularity but also how highly his peers regard him:

Mitchell will remain in the sport he loves and has already been working alongside trainer Tony Sims.

He has a great deal of knowledge to pass on. Considering what he has been through in the boxing business, young, hungry fighters should be queuing up to work with him.

American pastor Harry Emerson Fosdick once said: "Don't simply retire from something; have something to retire to." Mitchell has something to do in retirement other than drag out the golf clubs, meaning his mind should not drift back too often to those heartbreaking defeats, those might-have-been moments.

While he didn’t quite manage to get his hands on a world title, The Hammer did leave a lasting impression on British boxing. Hopefully, he can continue to have an impact in his new role.

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