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It took a pair of wrecked flip-flops to finally trigger Mitchell Smith into turning his life around. Ten years ago, a baby-faced Smith was among the most promising boxers in the country. A world title shot appeared a formality but in reality the super-featherweight was an accident waiting to happen. A shock defeat by George Jupp in 2015 exposed glaring flaws in his lifestyle and sparked a cataclysmic chain of events which culminated in three prison terms. Mitchell battled drink and drug addictions and ballooned to over 17 stone having competed at a smidgen over nine. He fought in gaudy nightclubs on unlicensed shows and begged for a job in sales he wasn't qualified for to make ends meet. But it took a wardrobe malfunction on his motorbike for the now 32-year-old to put himself on the straight and narrow. "After I came out of prison I had two unlicensed fights in a nightclub because fighting was the only way I knew how to earn money," he said. "But one day I was driving my moped and tried to overtake and crashed into a lamppost on a pedestrian island. I was wearing flip-flops, shorts and a t-shirt and I badly damaged my ankle to the point I needed pins and plates on both sides. "I'd shaved off the front of my foot and needed stitches on the front and side of my ankle. I was in a pretty bad way and the doctor said I wouldn't be able to run again. But I spent hours with my physio every day and had the plate out last year." Smith has since recorded two routine points wins but will step up significantly tonight against unbeaten Arnie Dawson for a fringe European title on just 11 days' notice. He has lost eight stone in weight and will compete just one division higher than a decade ago. "It's mad to think I've overcome everything," he added. "When I was drinking and taking drugs I was on another planet. "I look back and realise I've missed out on so much and I want to fill those blank pages with good stories. I don't want to be the person who had it all going for them but f***ed it up; that's why I wanted to change. So much of it was self-inflicted and I don't think I would have been able to live with myself if I hadn't come back and done it properly again. I've not wanted something so badly for a long time. Winning this fight would feel like I've completed everything I've needed to in boxing ."
