“I’VE PROVED MY POINT”…
Stephen S. Johnson

(INSIDE BOXING) March 13, 2004 Mandalay Bay, Las Vegas - Vassiliy Jirov (33-2) was the (hand picked) next victim of the odds on favorite to be the next Heavyweight Champion of the World. Instead, it was Jirov who gave “Baby” Joe Mesi (29-0) a good solid beating. The problem was that the beating came in the 1st, 9th and 10th rounds of a scheduled 10 round fight.

The Mesi victory, 94-93 on all judges scorecards, will come with the proverbial asterisk attached.

The undersized Jirov’s (he weighed 212 and Mesi 227) experience and being a southpaw confused and eventually wore down the Buffalo, New York grown Mesi.

Vassiliy Jirov (a 1996 Olympic Gold Medal winner) made his first venture into the heavyweight division after a stellar champion in the cruiserweight division a rather risky one by taking on the highly regarded Mesi.

But after knocking down Mesi 3 times in the last two rounds, there will be little doubt that neither Mesi nor Jirov is ready to be considered a real threat in the heavyweight division at this time.

Why do post-fight interviews continue to ask fighters who have been knocked down and sometimes knocked out, “were you ever really hurt?” when the fighters always say, “no!”

Not only did “Baby” Joe Mesi say he was never really hurt, he went on to say there would be no rematch since, “I’ve proved my point. I’m ready to move up the ladder in the heavyweight division to better competition”.

Taking a beating as a heavyweight for the last 2 rounds of a fight against a man you outweigh and hand picked as a way of showing you can fight outside the “friendly confines” of New York, in no way indicates you are ready for stiffer competition.

You, Joe Mesi, are no Oscar de la Hoya who can be GIVEN a decision and then determine you are popular enough to move on.

Message to Joe Mesi: YOU HAVE PROVED NOTHING AND VASSILIY JIROV EARNED AND DESERVES A REMATCH.

And another thing…Brooklyn, New York has a guy by the name of “Iron” Mike Tyson who would be more than willing to let you step up in stiffer competition.

And you will still be in the (soon to be not so) “friendly confines” of your home state, should you accept that challenge.