Farhood: Joe Mesi's Post Thanksgiving Day Parade Written By: Steve Farhood - 10.20.2003 02:13 AM SUPPORT F.I.S.T. - Fighter's Initiative for Support and Training! MESI’S POST-THANKSGIVING DAY PARADE By Steve Farhood October 16, 2003 What kind of world would it be if Joe Mesi were the heavyweight champion? Instead of trash-talking, there’d be motivational speaking. Instead of law suits, there’d be navy blue suits with tasteful red ties. Instead of sexcapades, there’d be one girlfriend from the neighborhood, still innocent enough to take snapshots at Baby Joe’s big-city press conferences. Could boxing handle it? I’m intentionally getting ahead of myself. After all, we still haven’t seen Mesi in a fight. DaVarryl Williamson provided a name in September, but nothing else; he crashed in 97 seconds. Monte Barrett, who tackles Mesi underneath Vitali Klitschko-Kirk Johnson on December 6 at Madison Square Garden, will be much sturdier. Barrett isn’t top-10 material, but he lasted seven and 12 rounds, respectively, with giants Wlad Klitschko and Lance Whitaker, so he doesn’t figure to quickly crumble against a smallish heavyweight like Mesi. “Standing up here, taking pictures with these guys,” Mesi said of his fellow December 6 headliners, “I was worried [the press] would think I was Arturo Gatti. These guys are so much bigger.” Only according to the tale of the tape. If the immediate future goes according to plan, Mesi could be scary-big. According to Tony Holden, who promotes, Baby Joe, a win over Barrett would lead to an HBO date in March, followed by a megafight, probably for a version of the world title, at Buffalo’s Ralph Wilson Stadium in July or August. The home of the Bills holds 73,967. “Believe me,” Holden said, “it’s gonna be easy to make it for a world title. Everybody wants Joe.” And why not? The perception remains that a fight against Mesi is low risk-high reward. “It’s no secret I’ve been moved slowly throughout my professional career,” said Mesi, who didn’t begin boxing until in his 20s. “I’m comfortable with [criticism]. I’ve learned I have nothing to prove to anyone but myself.” Talk to Mesi and you’re instantly won over by his refreshing combination of humility, humor, friendliness, and decency. Is he too good to be true? Is he good enough to be a titlist? At the Garden press conference, I asked Mesi if he ever wants to shake the non-believers and scream, “Don’t you realize what it would mean for boxing if I were a champion?” “I do, sometimes,” he answered. Either this guy is too naïve to be duplicitous or simply too honest to be falsely modest. How big is Baby Joe in Buffalo? Consider that sometime this football season, Mesi is going to address the Bills. They could use it; it’s only mid-October, and they’ve already lost three more times in six games than Mesi has in 27 fights. But keep in mind that unlike Mesi, the Bills can’t choose their opponents. Can Mesi really fight? The longer that question goes unanswered, the more intriguing it becomes. It was no different with Gerry Cooney or any undefeated white heavyweight who came before or after. Of this I’m sure: If we don’t find out until the football stadium in July or August, it’s going to be a delicious moment. Steve Farhood is a Showtime Boxing analyst and a BoxingInsider.com contributor. Return to Boxinginsider.com (>>) CheapBoxing.com - Quality Boxing Equipment On-Sale BoxingTrivia.com - Think You Know Boxing? Over 200 Questions!