At the age of 12, Mitchell’s mother, Jeanette, moved him and his siblings to Brandywine, Maryland, where he first began to participate in organized sports.

[citation needed] Mitchell attended Gwynn Park High School in Brandywine, where he played both football and basketball.

During his junior and senior seasons, he led his team in defensive statistics, totaling over 200 tackles, six interceptions, and 24 sacks.

[citation needed] The most significant honor was being the first football player in Gwynn Park High School history to have his jersey number retired (No.

After receiving over a dozen NCAA Division I football scholarship offers, Mitchell decided to attend Michigan State University.

One evening, he watched a former Notre Dame football opponent, Tom Zbikowski, win his professional boxing debut at Madison Square Garden.

An athletic background, strong work ethic and a focused demeanor helped prepare him to enter the sport of boxing.

On December 11, 2010, he fought Taurus Sykes on the undercard of Amir Khan vs. Marcos Maidana, winning the fight by knock out in the fifth round.

[5] On March 5, 2011, Mitchell fought Charles Davis, at Honda Center, Anaheim, California, on the undercard of the Canelo Álvarez vs. Matthew Hatton for the WBC light middleweight title.

[11] Mitchell overcame some rocky moments and won the fight by third-round TKO, marking him going 25–0–1 and his tenth straight KO victory.

[12] Mitchell was scheduled to return on July 14, 2012 against Johnathon Banks at the Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino, Las Vegas.

On September 7, 2013, Mitchell faced Chris Arreola for the WBC International heavyweight title at Fantasy Springs Resort and Casino, California.

He landed a big left hook that stopped Arreola in his tracks, but after taking further punishment the fight was halted.