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Joe Mesi got his moment in the national television spotlight Friday night. It lasted for 9 minutes and 26 seconds, from the opening theme music of ESPN2's "Friday Night Fights" to the broadcast's "Classic KOs" feature.
Mesi's segment featured highlights of his fourth-round stoppage of Jorge Luis Gonzalez at the Niagara Falls Convention and Civic Center in April and a short interview. The introduction's brevity was matched only by Mesi's short-order work on crystal-chinned Derrick Banks. That, in turn, sent ESPN2's producers scrambling for filler material.
Not that his lack of screen time was Mesi's fault. He did his job precisely and viciously, just as expected from a rising heavyweight contender. After little more than a minute of sparring, Mesi staggered Banks with a hard right, sent him reeling toward the canvas with a left hook and, after a few wild shots, finished him with another left.
Banks beat the count, but stumbled into the referee, who thankfully waved it over 1:25 into the opening round.
An impressive showing by Mesi (who improved to 21-0 with 19 knockouts), to be sure. But a victory was never really at issue in Mesi's first bout on a Sugar Ray Leonard-promoted card. The big question is what, if anything, it means.
Banks, while a substitute who took the fight on eight days' notice, was billed as a younger, more fit foe than Gonzalez or Bert Cooper, Mesi's July victim at the Convention Center. So much for advance hype.
Though he had lost six of his previous eight fights, Banks went 10 rounds or more in five of the defeats, all against promising young heavyweights. The lone quick loss was a first-round stoppage against Kirk Johnson, generally considered one of the division's top five fighters.
Johnson not only blasted Banks completely out of the ring, he also apparently softened the trialhorse's once-solid chin. Against Mesi, Banks looked the part of a true heavyweight test. At least until Mesi's first real punch landed.
Nothing against Mesi's power, but at this point in his career, you'd like to see him fighting someone who could absorb at least one clean shot. As Mesi stalked to his corner after it ended, trainer Juan DeLeon celebrated. Mesi barely smiled.
It made you wonder if he knew that, fair or not, the quick ending would spur as much criticism as praise.
Since Gonzalez's singularly passive performance in April, Mesi's quality of opposition has come under increasing scrutiny, with "When's he going to fight somebody real?" the most commonly asked question.
Contrary to popular opinion, Mesi's skin color doesn't help. Thanks to the cynical, racist-appeasing promotion of Caucasian fighters from James Jefferies to Richie Melito (whose wildly inflated record is documented by boxing crusader Jack Newfield in the Nov. 12 issue of The Nation), most fight fans view white heavyweights with extreme skepticism.
Boxers of all colors follow similar career paths, if they're competently managed. Generally, the first 20 fights are planned to build an impressive record, while honing the fighter's skills in the process. The next 10 or so are meant to climb the rankings ladder and position for a title shot. But don't take my word for it -- here's where several current and former heavyweight contenders and champions were at a similar point in their careers:
John Ruiz (WBA titleholder): Ruiz, the first fighter of Puerto Rican descent to win a share of the heavyweight championship, beat novice Rick Sullivan via second-round TKO in his 21st bout. Sullivan fell to just 3-3 with the loss. But Ruiz had faced his first real contender in his previous bout, when he lost a 12-round decision to Danell Nicholson for the minor-league IBO heavyweight title.
But Ruiz fought 19 more times, against mostly very safe opposition, before challenging Evander Holyfield for the WBA title on Aug. 8, 2000.
Lennox Lewis (WBC, IBF titleholder): Lewis stopped never-was Mike Dixon (10-5) in the fourth round of his 21st fight. But in his 22nd, he iced then-No. 1 contender Donovan "Razor" Ruddock in the second. Seven month later, he decisioned Tony Tucker for the vacant WBC crown.
Mike Tyson (No. 1 contender, according to the WBC): Tyson's 21st fight was a 10-round decision over Mitch "Blood" Green, better remembered for a subsequent street loss to Tyson than anything he ever did in the ring.
Tyson went on to stop punching bags Reggie Gross, William Hosea (who was fighting for the seventh time as a pro) and Lorenzo Boyd, as well as fringe contenders Marvis Frazier, Jose Ribalta and Alfonso Ratliff (a blown-up cruiserweight) before starting his first title reign with a second-round KO of Trevor Berbick in his 28th bout.
Lou Savarese (comebacking contender and client of Bob Spagnola, Mesi's agent): Savarese knocked out someone named Mike Robinson (4-11-1) in his 21st fight.
He padded his record to 37-0 before losing a controversial split decision to 48-year-old George Foreman in 1997.
Savarese subsequently lost to David Izon and Michael Grant before getting waxed in less than a round by Mike Tyson in June, 2000. His 12-round decision win over David Bostice headlined Friday night's card at Foxwoods Casino.
Larry Holmes (world champion from 1978-85): Holmes, never accused of carrying a manufactured record, stopped Forgettable Fred Askew (14-12-2) in his 21st fight.
Holmes stepped up significantly in his next bout, beating dangerous contender Roy Williams. By his 27th fight, he earned a spot in a WBC title eliminator against Earnie Shavers. Holmes' decision win earned him a title shot against Ken Norton, which he won.
Gerry Cooney (former No. 1 contender): Cooney's 21st victim was Dino Dennis. Kayoes of Leroy Boone -- then the early 1980s equivalents of Gonzalez and Cooper -- Jimmy Young, Ron Lyle and Ken Norton followed.
After matching him with the three completely shot former contenders, Cooney's management team threw him to Holmes. After getting stopped in the 13th, the man who made "Great White Hope" an even more disdainful moniker beat a couple more stiffs, absorbed brutal knockouts at the hands of Michael Spinks and Foreman, then thankfully retired.
George Foreman (two-time champion, pitch-man extraordinaire): Despite the bounce that comes from winning an Olympic gold medal, Foreman was as carefully matched as any "White Hope."
Big George's 21st pro opponent was Roger Russell, who brought in a 1-6-1 record and was helped from the ring after less than a round. Other than Toronto-based George Chuvalo, best known for absorbing terrifying amounts of punishment, and the solid-but-limited Gregorio Peralta, Foreman didn't fight anyone remotely approaching contender status until his 38th bout. And that was against Joe Frazier, who he knocked down six times in two rounds to win the title.
Rocky Marciano (only heavyweight champ to retire undefeated): The Brockton Blockbuster didn't exactly come up the hard way, either. Marciano's 21st win came over journeyman Ted Lowry (48-47-8). Five fights later, Marciano won a controversial 10-round decision against Roland LaStarza, another young unbeaten fighter.
Marciano's managers were more careful thereafter, avoiding any serious threats until his 36th fight, when he stopped Rex Layne in six. After beating Freddie Beshore (who fought Ezzard Charles for the heavyweight title in Buffalo) and a tired, out-of-shape Joe Louis, Marciano went back to feasting on the heavyweight slop until winning the title from Joe Walcott in his 43rd fight.
To date, Mesi's career path hasn't been markedly different than that of most well-managed heavyweights. Two of those mentioned above provide cautionary tales, though. Cooney's managers never developed his skills by providing him with opponents that would test him, feeding him a stream of softies before sacrificing him to Holmes, then one of the division's great champions.
Savarese's handlers, eying a shot at Foreman for several years before it finally happened, stymied his development while padding his record.
Mesi still has plenty of time to avoid either pitfall. The key will be putting Mesi in with fighters who pose an actual threat. That's made more difficult by the choice of Mesi and his father/manager, Jack Mesi, to avoid long-term commitments to the triad of promoters who control most of the division -- Don King, Bob Arum and Cedric Kushner.
Anyone who would suggest signing on with King approximates a good idea hasn't been paying much attention to boxing for the last 30 years. You don't see any of King's former fighters palling around with the promoter, because they all wind up broke, disenchanted or eating oatmeal through a straw. Arum and Kushner are marginally better than King, but signing on with any of the three is tantamount to a deal with the devil.
Mesi has a chance to break through the King-Arum-Kushner monopoly.
Not because he's a white heavyweight, but because he's so different from most white heavyweights. Not only is he eloquent and charismatic, he can actually fight.
Mesi's combination of talent and appeal gives him increasing leverage and the potential to become the type of force in the sport that can't be ignored forever.