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KEVIN MITCHELL PROFILE

Date of Birth: 28.10.84
Record: 22-0 (15)
Hometown: Dagenham
Division: Super-featherweight
Titles Won: IBF inter-continental super-featherweight

Mitchell turned pro amid much fanfare and media hype - with promoter Frank Warren steadfastly claiming he will one day become the biggest draw in London since Nigel Benn.

Given the recent emergence of one Amir Khan, the 'Dagenham Destroyer' has been forced to take a back seat, but intends to use 2006 to launch himself fully into the public consciousness.

He has plenty to say for one so young, but reassuringly it seems he has the ability to match his boasts.

As an amateur Mitchell enjoyed rare success, winning four schoolboy titles, a junior ABA title and even capturing a silver medal at the 2002 junior Olympics.

His big ambition as a teenager was to win a senior ABA title, and once he accomplished that feat in 2003, he felt he was ready to 'turn over'.

He enjoyed home advantage for his first three fights, thrilling the locals at the Goresbrook Sports Centre in his native Dagenham.

Old hand Stevie Quinn was put away quite sensationally after just a minute and a half in his first paid outing, and foreign import Csaba Ladanyzi was also sparked in the first.

Vlado Varhegi fared a bit better, but he was still rendered immobile inside three rounds as the Mitchell Express gathered momentum.

Another KO win followed, before a game Christian Laight became the first man to hear the final bell against this big-punching teen prodigy.

Mitchell continued to rack up the wins in 2004, before deciding to switch trainers and leaving Johnny Eames' TKO gym to link up with Babatunde Ajayi.

Despite the change of scenery (and becoming a father for the first time), Mitchell continued to impress, showing against the likes of Henry Janes and Frederic Bonifai that he had more to his game than just raw power.

Having now fully recovered following a hand operation, Micthell will be looking to box for titles in the coming year.

It looks like he will travel down the time-honoured route of Central Area, British Masters and British before surveying the world scene, but the kid with dynamite in his hands will do well to remember the old adage that: 'from little acorns grow mighty oaks'.