• Boxing

Mitchell and Joshua announced for O2 in January

Kevin Mitchell has lost just two fights in his 11-year career © PA Photos

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British lightweight contender Kevin Mitchell and blue-chip heavyweight prospect Anthony Joshua, Great Britain's 2012 Olympic gold medalist, will appear on the same card at the O2 Arena on January 31, Eddie Hearn announced on Wednesday.

In a battle of former world title challengers, Mitchell will face Daniel Estrada in the 12-round main event and Joshua will face the most notable opponent yet in his pro career when he takes on American Kevin Johnson, a former world title challenger, in a 10-round bout.

Mitchell will be fighting for the first time since scoring an 11th-round knockout of Ghislain Maduma on May 31 in what was supposed to be a world title elimination bout. However, Mitchell could not gain the mandatory status with his victory because he was over the prescribed 10-pound weight-gain allowance at the weight check conducted on the morning of the fight.

Mitchell (38-2, 28 KOs), 30, has won five fights in a row since being knocked out in the fourth round by good pal Ricky Burns in a lightweight world title bout in September 2012.

Estrada (32-3-1, 24 KOs), 29, of Mexico, got a world title shot in his last fight but was knocked out in the ninth round challenging Omar Figueroa Jr on August 16 in Carson, California.

Hearn said he is hoping to have Mitchell-Estrada sanctioned as a world title elimination bout.

"Mitchell versus Estrada is a great fight. I was ringside in Carson when he took on Figueroa for the WBC title, and he put up a great fight," Hearn said.

"We have applied to the WBC to make this fight a final eliminator for the WBC title with the winner to face the winner of Jorge Linares versus Javier Prieto, and we will be pushing the request at the upcoming convention. I expect it to be successful. It's all part of a cracking line-up at the O2."

Lianres (37-3, 24 KOs) and Prieto (24-7-2, 18 KOs) meet for the vacant 135-pound belt on December 30 in Tokyo. Figueroa was recently stripped of the title because of an injury that will keep him idle for several months.

The 6-foot-6, 240-pound Joshua (10-0, 10 KOs), 25, blew away faded countryman Michael Sprott in just 86 seconds on Saturday at the Echo Arena in Liverpool, on the Nathan Cleverly-Tony Bellew II undercard.

The 35-year-old Johnson (29-6-1, 14 KOs), however, is known for his durability. He has never been stopped, including going the distance in a lopsided world title fight with then-titleholder Vitali Klitschko in 2009. Johnson has also gone the distance with contenders such as Tyson Fury, Dereck Chisora and Manuel Charr.

"Kevin Johnson is durable and he's got a lot of experience and quite a lot of mouth, so it should be a fun one," Joshua said.

Anthony Joshua took his record to 10-0 - all KOs - at the Echo Arena on Saturday © Getty Images

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