Fighting DaVarryl Williamson on HBO represents an unquestioned step up in caliber of opposition and level of exposure for Joe Mesi.
From the sound of it, Team Mesi is elevating its pre-fight hyping capabilities, as well.
In announcing his last bout, the unbeaten Tonawanda heavyweight raised a few eyebrows, and forced a few smirks, by praising Robert Davis -- who entered the June 24 bout with five losses in his previous 10 fights -- as one of the hardest hitters in the heavyweight division.
Neither Mesi, nor the 11,000 in attendance at HSBC Arena, ever found out how accurate those words might have been, as Davis failed to land a single solid punch before succumbing to eight power shots in a mere 80 seconds.
While most of the boxing world considers Williamson two steps and a jump above Davis, or any of Mesi's other previous foes, the man nicknamed "Touch of Sleep" isn't causing the fighter or his management to lose any.
"He's so tough, he'll probably last a whole round," Mesi's father and manager, Jack, said during an interview with the Reporter on Saturday.
Having secured the biggest payday of his son's five-year professional career, assuming the Sept. 27 card at HSBC Arena goes off as scheduled, Jack Mesi felt justified in talking a little trash.
While former HBO boxing chief Lou DiBella remains the promoter of record for the "Night of the Young Heavyweights" card headlined by the Mesi-Williamson clash, the Mesis and their promoter, Tony Holden, stand to reap the lions' share of the profits.
"We invested to a certain point where we would control the gate," Jack Mesi said. "We're going to get a purse from HBO, and we're going to get control of the gate."
While the manager wouldn't reveal specific numbers or percentages, he confirmed that the deal -- scheduled at press time to be officially announced Tuesday afternoon during a news conference at Dunn Tire Park -- should mean a yield of "six figures, hopefully seven figures."
That's in contrast to the fighter's series of appearances on ESPN2, which brought in a purse from the network of $20,000 to $30,000, according to Jack Mesi. Those numbers were augmented significantly by the crowds of 10,000-plus that turned out for bouts staged at HSBC Arena and the University at Buffalo's Alumni Arena.
"We never made any money to speak of from ESPN," he said. "You get rank-and-file money against rank-and-file guys. Whatever we've made so far is from our gate."
The retired police officer said the HBO deal flies in the face of media criticism implying that he's in over his head in the boxing world. Such speculation intensified after Team Mesi parted ways with Sugar Ray Leonard Boxing last winter, paying the former champion a reported $90,000 to get out of their contract.
"Not bad for a Little League daddy, huh?" he said. "All that bad management Joe's been getting wasn't so bad after all. You don't see Sugar Ray Leonard's guys on HBO, do you?"
To stay in the world of pay-cable and advance to the ultimate boxing destination -- pay-per-view -- Joe Mesi will have to get by Williamson, though.
"A loss now would certainly take the wind out of our sails, but Joe can fight and that's recognized across the country," Jack Mesi said. "A loss now would probably put us back to ESPN2 and we'd have to earn our way back. But it wouldn't be the end of his career. DaVarryl Williamson has one loss, and he's at the same level as us. It's not devastating."
That defeat, a fourth-round stoppage loss to Willie Chapman, came in Williamson's fourth pro fight. Since then, he's won 15 straight, 13 by knockout. His resume, though, includes no names bigger than Davis or David Izon, who Mesi stopped in nine rounds in October, 2002.
Williamson's most accomplished victims to date are:
Despite the equivalence of their opposition, Jack Mesi said Williamson seems to be getting more respect than his son, at least on the local level.
"There's certainly a double standard created by the Buffalo News," Jack Mesi said. "Williamson has done exactly the right thing. I don't think you want to put your guy into a fight he's supposed to lose. DaVarryl Wiliamson has been handled beautifully in that regard, but he doesn't get criticized for it."
And despite his flirtation with pre-fight bravado, Jack Mesi knows Williamson represents his son's most dangerous foe to date.
"He's a knockout artist," he said. "We know he's got that rocket right hand and a great uppercut. Somebody is going to keep going on, and somebody probably won't."
Some of New York's top amateur fighters will be in action this weekend during the annual Empire State Games at Buffalo State College.
Ray Casal of Casal's Boxing Club will coach the Western Region team, which includes Niagara Falls fighters Pativaj Soundara (men's heavyweight), Roy Burns (men's super heavyweight), and Deborah Kreps (women's light welterweight).
The fights start Friday night and run through Sunday. The games start Thursday at venues throughout Western New York, including women's basketball and ice hockey at Niagara University and race-walking at Prospect Park.
| Niagara Falls Reporter | www.niagarafallsreporter.com | July 22 2003 |