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David Izon unquestionably ranks as Joe Mesi's most intriguing opponent to date.
After 23 pro bouts for the Tonawanda native, that's a pretty low bar. And a huge question remains as to how interesting the fight itself will prove. That depends on just how much the 34-year-old Nigerian has left.
Izon, who know fights out of Pensacola, Fla., under the management of light heavyweight champion Roy Jones Jr., spent three years in the Top 10 of most heavyweight rankings and has, at various times, been slated to fight undisputed champion Lennox Lewis, undisputed one-punch wonder Hasim Rahman and undisputed mental case Mike Tyson.
But a closer look at Izon's 27-4 record (with 23 knockouts) shows that those lofty achievements had as much to do with Izon's limitations as his abilities. At once powerful and hittable, Izon makes for an entertaining, yet limited, foe.
Izon, a silver medalist at the 1992 Olympics, shot off to a 18-0 start against a carefully chosen string of opponents.
The 19th easy mark, Maurice Harris, proved a little tougher than expected. Actually, a lot tougher. Harris, who brought a dismal 5-6-2 mark into their March 15, 1996 bout in Atlantic City. Harris overcame an early knockdown and outworked and outpunched the heavily favored Izon to win an eight-round decision, kickstarting a career surge that eventually landed him in the Top 10.
After that loss, Izon was thrown in with then-unbeaten David Tua, whom he had beaten in Barcelona in 1992. The two staged a classic caveman punch-out until the Nigerian succumbed to the Samoan's thunderous left hook in the 12th and final round.
Izon recovered from those punishing defeats to knock out Lou Savarese, a fellow client of Mesi's Houston-based agent, Bob Spagnola, in five rounds in November, 1997. That landed him a shot against Michael Grant, at the time the heavyweight division's hottest prospect. After four even rounds, Grant launched an unanswered barrage to score a fifth-round stoppage.
That beating sent Izon to the comeback trail, where he won seven straight. Three of those victories came over quality opponents, but at a high price. Izon had to climb off the floor to stop borderline contenders Darroll Wilson and Terrence Lewis, and looked out on his feet several times before rallying to stop Derrick Jefferson on Jan. 15, 2000.
Those wars took a painful toll, however. Originally matched with Wladimir Klitschko last December, Izon instead had to face another unbeaten rising star, Fres Oquendo. For the first time, Izon looked completely overmatched. Oquendo battered Izon viciously until the fight was stopped in the third round, leading HBO's analysts to declare the one-time contender shot.
Jones' willingness to put Izon in with Mesi, yet another unbeaten young heavyweight, means one of two things. Either Jones doesn't think much of the Tonawanda native's abilities or 23-0 (20) record, and sees the opportunity to give Izon's career some momentum by blemishing Mesi's record, or he agrees with George Foreman and Friends and wants to get one last payday out of the former contender before sending him to the old boxers' home.
That said, Izon could present a significant step for Mesi on a number of levels. If Izon can still hit with anything approaching his old authority (and power is usually the last thing to go on an aging fighter), he'll give Mesi's chin its first real test since Bert Cooper sent him into the ropes at the Niagara Falls Convention and Civic Center last summer. And it's a fair bet that Izon won't enter the ring needing a brassiere.
But the Oquendo loss raised serious questions about whether Izon can still deliver the power and intensity he showed in the late 1990s and 2000. He claims to have been a police officer in Nigeria, but against Oquendo, he gave most observers the impression that he's still fighting for lack of anything else to do.
Other older heavyweights trying to come back against younger, more highly regarded foes haven't fared well this summer. Klitschko destroyed 41-year-old Ray Mercer in five rounds in June, while 34-year-old Michael Moorer lasted just 30 seconds with Tua on Aug. 17.
The needle on Izon's gas tank isn't the only nebulous thing about the tentatively scheduled match. Mesi's promoter, Sugar Ray Leonard, is slated to come to Buffalo on Sept. 4 to announce a date, location and television network for the fight. Given that date, a fight is unlikely before October. While Jack Mesi, Joe's father and manager, has long talked about an outdoor bout, autumn weather in Western New York is far from predictable.
Assuming everything comes together, Mesi faces another pivotal fight. Win, and his No. 17 ranking by the World Boxing Council figures to elevate, with the sport's other sanctioning bodies following suit. That would put Mesi within a fight or two of a shot at one of myriad titles, or at least a shot at a Top-10 contender. Lose, and he'll have to either go back to fighting relative nobodies or think seriously about a day job.
| Niagara Falls Reporter | www.niagarafallsreporter.com | August 27 2002 |