Contrary to her ring moniker, Jamie 'The Miracle' Mitchell has never been one to rely on divine intervention. Everything Jamie has achieved both inside the ring and, even more importantly, in the brutal world beyond the ropes, has been the byproduct of a work ethic which is as tireless and vital as her faith in herself.
To put in another way, Mitchell has spent her entire hardscrabble life, from abandoned and abused child to world bantamweight champion, making her own miracles happen.
Mitchell's maiden defense of the 118-pound WBA title she won by defeating former champion Shannon Courtenay, who lost the belt the day before the fight when she weighed in 2 and 1/2 pounds over the bantamweight limit, came Saturday evening in Phoenix against British challenger Carly Skelly.
The 35-year-old southpaw from Liverpool turned pro in 2019 after a brief and unremarkable amateur career, outpointing Bec Connolly over four rounds. A part-time nurse and full-time mother to two young boys, Carly remained unbeaten in five fights coming into the weekend, her record marred thus far only by dueling to a split draw with Amy Timlin on Halloween night 2020. Skelly's last outing occurred nearly a full year later when she outpointed Dorota Norek last October to claim the WBC International bantamweight strap.
Skelly took the fight to Mitchell from the opening bell, invading the champion's real estate albeit in somewhat sloppy fashion. Mitchell was unfazed by her challenger's naked aggression, and caught Skelly coming in with a multi-punch combination that put Carly on the canvas just as time expired in the first round.
Administered a mandatory eight-count, Skelly returned to her corner to clear the cobwebs and hit the reset button before the commencement of the following two-minute stanza. Carly didn't know it yet, though she may have sensed it to some extent, but she was running on borrowed time.
Rather than jump on her compromised opponent and take an unnecessary risk in the process, Mitchell remained poised and patient, working behind her jab and settling into a comfortable rhythm. Timing Skelly's forward lunges, Jamie countered with left leads and right hooks, many of which rattled her challenger's cage.
Yet again, Mitchell closed out the round by flooring Skelly in the waning moments. This time, a perfectly placed counter right hook caused a delayed reaction from Skelly as she froze in place, did a little unsteady two-step, and fell backwards onto her back pocket. Despite the vacant expression in her eyes, Skelly was granted a questionable reprieve by both the referee and her trainer who was keen on stopping the fight before the rest period had barely even begun.
Instead of pouncing upon Skelly at the bell for round three as might be expected after two knockdowns, the champion kept her cool and went back to work. She staggered Skelly with another right hook and followed up with a nice left that seemed to be the beginning of the end at the halfway mark, but the challenger wisely held on for dear life as Mitchell closed the distance with bad intentions, and the two combatants took a shared tumble to the mat in one another's arms.
Skelly survived the third and managed to land a few shots of her own which produced a stream of blood from Mitchell's nose, but the end was nigh for the fighting nurse who was given the nickname 'Thumper' by her late grandmother, for whom Carly dedicated this bout. A clean left hook set the stage for the barrage of punches that followed and an outworked, overwhelmed Carly Skelly was swallowed into the arms of referee Wes Melton, who waved the fight off with 28 seconds left on the clock in round four.
This stoppage was the fifth in eight wins for Jamie Mitchell at the professional level, an impressive statistic indeed for 'The Miracle' to cap off her first title defense. Mitchell pragmatically graded her performance a B-minus, insisting that "There's still things I want to work on."
"She's gave me nothing but positive energy. She was open armed and welcomed me in and allowed me to share the ring with her to get more knowledge," said Mitchell when asked in a post-fight interview about her relationship and sparring sessions with former Team USA compatriot Claressa Shields, who was victorious over Ema Kozin in her UK debut earlier that evening, "Iron sharpens iron, and that greatness does rub off."
Woe to anyone who underestimates or trivializes Jamie Mitchell. She is a woman on a mission and made it abundantly clear that she should be accorded all due respect after her four-round beat down of Carly Skelly. "I feel like people sleep on me," she acknowledged, "and I wanted to wake them up."
Consider the alarm bell officially sounded throughout the bantamweight division.
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