By Miguel Assuncao

O2 Arena, London - It’s not turning out to be a great night for the British fighters.

Ismael Barroso (19-0-2, 18 KOs) sensationally knocked out Kevin Mitchell (39-4-0, 29 KOs) in five to claim the WBA interim lightweight title.

The Venezuelan backed up his fearsome reputation as a big-puncher by sending Mitchell to the canvas in round five with a well timed straight right hand.

To his credit, Mitchell got back to his feet but was not able to recover quickly enough as Barroso weighed in with a number of clean shots that sent him down again and gave the referee no option but to stop the fight.

The boxer from El Tigre had made an impressive start to the fight taking the centre of the ring and landing a clean left hook that had Mitchell back pedalling in the first round.

‘The Hammer’ seemed to heed the warning as he used lateral movement to stop Barroso from planting his feet, but a combination of a slip and a left hand also sent the Londoner down in round four.

The pre-fight talk of a potential showdown between Mitchell and WBA regular champion Anthony Crolla will have to wait for another day.