Mitchell spent two years doing the hard road work needed to stage the New Zealand Boxing Championships in the resort.
The result was a ''game-changing'' event far removed from the spit-and-sawdust back-room fare of previous championships.
And to cap it all, two dark-horse boxers from his own Queenstown stable won national titles with thunderous victories.
Richie Hadlow (26) scored a vicious knockout against Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games quarterfinalist Leroy Hindley in the first round to take the light welterweight title.
Callum Owen (25) then beat three-time national champion Sheldon Whalley with a committed, relentless style to take the middleweight crown in a split decision.
Fellow Otago team boxer Matt Crawford, of Dunedin, also took a national title with a split decision over Manawatu's Heritier Ibouanga.
Queenstown and Otago head coach Mitchell said: ''Everyone's talking about the way Richie knocked Leroy Hindley out.
''Richie absolutely flattened him first round. Before it happened he had beautiful rhythm, slipping and Leroy was missing every punch. Then Richie threw a right hand that landed on the button. Leroy wobbled then landed face first.''
Hindley somehow beat the count but the bout was stopped soon after.
Commonwealth Games gold medallist David Nyika (19) was another victor, beating Canterbury's Glen Cotton to take the light heavyweight title.
Nyika's older brother, Joshua, beat Aryk Whalley to win the welterweight title.
Hadlow, who has been boxing two years, said: `I'm still buzzing; it's just surreal. The whole thing is like an out-of-body experience.
''He [Hindley] is a very good boxer but I went in completely concentrating on myself.
''It was a right hand that landed with a snap. That's about all I can remember.''
Hadlow now hopes to land an international fight.
A total of 158 boxers contested the 36 titles over four days of blood-and-guts bouts at Queenstown Events Centre, with a crowd of more than 800 for the finals, including New Zealand great David Tua. Mitchell, who trains boxers at Queenstown gym Fight Science, said: ''It's been a huge, amazing week.
''For us it's been a two-year journey - not only putting the nationals on here but raising $20,000 from local businesses to develop local talent.''
Mitchell said his long-term vision was to build Queenstown as the No 1 destination for amateur boxing through Oceania.
''A critical point for me to get people emotionally involved was to get Queenstown boxers there, with the ultimate dream of one of them potentially winning a title.
''So we ticked every single box on our wish list.''
The short-term goal of at least breaking even on the $50,000 event was met.
Mitchell said production values for charity boxing events such as the Mountain Scene-sponsored Thriller in the Chiller meant he had to raise his game.
''That's a world-class presentation, world-class, and it's the standard the people of Queenstown are used to.
'' A normal amateur event is spit and sawdust, so we had to raise it.
''It's a game-changer what we did, how we presented it, and a blueprint to move forward.
''Our goal was to host the best national championships and people are saying we've done that.''
