Former WBC super middleweight champion Byron Mitchell (26-4-1) and former NABA-US champion Zach "Jungle Boy" Walters (28-3) will meet this Friday, Feb. 20th at the Buffalo Convention Center in NY.
Mitchell, of Alabama, and Walters, of Minnesota will clash in the ring having traveled opposite paths. Although both men share similar records, Mitchell has been through wars with guys like Joe Calzaghe and Sven Otke. Mitchell, 35, looks to rejuvenate a career in which he has only fought twice since 2004 with a win against Walters. In many ways outside of just age, Mitchell is the veteran of the two.

"I don't know a lot about Walters other then the fact that he is tall and systematic" said Mitchell over the phone following a pre fight physical. "Honestly, I just like to fight. It doesn't matter who I am facing, I just want to do my job in the ring. With the experience I have gained through tough fights, I feel like I am more dangerous now then I have ever been. The biggest thing I have learned is to never look past anybody. I am not looking past Zach Walters. Anybody that gets in the ring with you can be dangerous. So I am not looking past Walters but I just don't understand why he wants to get in the ring with me. Maybe he thinks I am washed up but he will find out on Friday that it is not the case."

Walters is the younger man that will try to resume his climb up the prospect/contender ladder that was derailed in his last bout five months ago. While Mitchell is world traveled, Walters has fought many of his bouts near his home state with some exceptions (Washington 3x's and Canada). Walters feels this fight is an opportunity to get his name out to a wider audience and get his career back on track by beating Mitchell.

"This is a risk, but one worth taking as it will introduce me to the East Coast boxing scene. We got the call to fight in Buffalo, NY and the fight made sense to me so I figured why not. I've reached an altitude with my career that has been a lot of fun, but if I want to advance, I need to take some risky fights. My goal is to go out there and have fun. I find it a supreme privilege to be able to get paid for something I love to do, box. It will be my pleasure to box one of the best out there. He's a tough boxer that seems to fight with a lot of heart. He's probably going to look to knock me out. This fight will challenge me on many levels to win. I need to be ready to take some hard shots and return fire. The way I see it, there is no way I'm getting out of this match with out getting busted up. I need to be ready to take some abuse and give it back."