Seth Mitchell KOs Timur Ibragimov in D.C.

WASHINGTON -- The question about Seth Mitchell going into his fight with Timur Ibragimov was simple: Could Mitchell continue to polish his credentials as America's best heavyweight hope?


Mitchell unloaded a series of brutal overhand rights and left hooks to pound Ibragimov into a second-round knockout Saturday night at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in the co-featured bout on the undercard of junior welterweight titlist Amir Khan's defense against Lamont Peterson.


Mitchell (24-0-1, 18 KOs) became the first man to stop Ibragimov (30-4-1, 16 KOs), a 1996 Olympian from Uzbekistan and Mitchell's most experienced opponent to date.


"I'm blessed with natural athletic ability," Mitchell said. "I have the size, power and speed. But I don't take that for granted and I work really hard. This is my first time [fighting] at home since 2010, and to be on the biggest network [HBO] was such an honor.


"This is the platform I want to be on. I want to continue the buzz. Of course, I wanted to be the first to stop Timur, but I wasn't going to be reckless."


After a round of moderate action to open the fight, Mitchell turned it up in the second round. He caught Ibragimov repeatedly with his right hand and had him wobbly.


He moved in for the kill, and landed five flush right hands and a left hook before referee Malik Waleed moved in to stop it at 2 minutes, 48 seconds.


Mitchell, 29, of nearby Brandywine, Md., closed the show by landing 23 of 46 power shots in the second round, according to CompuBox stats, even if the stoppage seemed a tad premature.


"Why did they stop the fight? I'm OK," Ibragimov, 36, said. "He didn't even hurt me. Of course he landed some shots, but I was all right. I'm fine. I could have kept going. There was no point to stop the fight."


A former standout linebacker at Michigan State, Mitchell saw his NFL dreams crushed by a knee injury. So he turned to boxing in his early 20s, had an abbreviated, 10-fight amateur career (9-1, 9 KOs) and turned pro in 2008.


He has moved quickly and was taking a big step up against Ibragimov, passing the test with ease.


"We knew we had to stop his right hand," Mitchell said. "So once I neutralized that, it was pretty much an easy night for me. I kept catching him with my right, and my left hook stunned him, and he was a sitting duck for my right hand."


We knew we had to stop his right hand," Mitchell said. "So once I neutralized that, it was a pretty easy night for me."
After a primarily defensive first round, both fighters traded shots early in the second. But after Mitchell caught Ibragimov with a hard left hook to the face, he continued the onslaught.


Mitchell threw six hard overhand rights to the face of his opponent. A left uppercut then stifled Ibragimov and he walked backwards toward his corner. Mitchell finished him off with the overhand right, prompting the referee to stop the fight.
"Why did they stop the fight? I'm OK," Ibragimov said. "He didn't even hurt me."
The damage to his face, though, said otherwise.
"My left hook stunned him, and he was a sitting duck for my right hand," Mitchell said. "I'm blessed with natural athletic ability. I have the size, power and speed but I don't take that for granted and I work really hard.
"This is the platform I want to be on."