Forget Monte Barrett.
That shouldn't be too difficult, since only the hardest of hard-core fight fans had ever heard of Joe Mesi's next opponent before the announcement of their Dec. 6 pairing in Madison Square Garden, anyway.
No disrespect to the fighter formerly known as "Two Gunz" -- and as an aside, thank you, Monte, for ditching that improperly used "z." But there are two other names on the marquee of boxing's most hallowed venue that will ultimately mean more to Mesi's fistic destiny, though they won't appear in the ring until the Tonawanda native has showered and donned street clothes.
Vitali Klitschko, whose hideously wounded eyelid ended his bid to liberate the true heavyweight title from the lackadaisical grasp of Lennox Lewis, faces Kirk Johnson, who was originally supposed to challenge the champ last June, in Saturday's main event.
Barrett isn't all that different from most of Mesi's recent foes. He possesses a good record (28-2, 16 KOs). He's of about average size for a heavyweight, standing 6-foot-3 and weighing in between 217 and 225 pounds for his recent fights. He was once considered a hotter prospect than he is now, having started his career 20-0.
Barrett is considered a solid technical fighter without a whole lot of power, as evidenced by his middling knockout ratio. He's displayed a good chin, with his only stoppage loss coming against Vitali Klitschko's younger brother, Wladimir, in 2000.
In his last fight, Barrett rallied after getting knocked around for nine rounds to stop Erick Kirkland in the 10th, ostensibly proving his durability. Remember, though, Williamson overcame a broken jaw to win his last fight before facing Mesi. That feat helped him last all of 97 seconds back in October.
Williamson's gut check victory came against Robert Wiggins, who also extended Barrett to the 10-round distance before losing a narrow decision.
While performances against common opponents can often be deceiving, it's tough to look at any aspect of Barrett's record and definitively say that he's a huge, or even significant, step up from Williamson.
But HBO didn't pick Barrett hoping that he would beat Mesi, just maximize their rising star's screen time.
Blasting out Williamson so quickly made for a perfect debut on boxing's showcase outlet, showing Mesi's huge local popularity, giving newcomers a glimpse of his skills and leaving them wanting more.
The point of his encore is giving them more. Barrett, at minimum, should be able to last into the middle rounds. That would allow Mesi to demonstrate the hand speed, movement and versatility that marked his first 25 fights but were pre-empted by his quick demolitions of Davis and Williamson.
While Barrett represents the latest in Mesi's string of progressively better fighters that he absolutely has to beat to keep climbing toward elite contender status, Klitschko and Johnson are the type of guys who will be waiting for him when he gets there.
Until last spring, most boxing observers considered Vitali the lesser of the Klitschko brothers. Then Wladimir got nuked inside two rounds by lightly regarded South African Corrie Sanders in March.
Three months later, when Johnson pulled out of a scheduled date with Lewis, Vitali took the fight as a last-minute substitute.
Facing a champion apparently disinterested in both training and boxing in his usual style, Klitschko made the most of Lewis' willingness to stand and slug it out. Even after a right hand by Lewis opened a grotesque gash over his left eye, Klitschko continued moving forward and landing.
The Ukrainian led on all three judges' scorecards when referee Lou Moret stopped it before the seventh round, leaving the WBC and IBO title belts, as well as the linear heavyweight championship, in Lewis' possession.
Klitschko fought far better than anyone, with the possible exception of his brother, expected. But the notion that he was robbed is a stretch.
A technical knockout due to a cut caused by a punch is one of the legitimate ways to win, or lose, a fight, no different from or less authentic than a 10-count or decision by the judges. Klitschko's triangular wound resembled a mini-mouth, opening, closing and oozing blood when he blinked. It wasn't going to get any better and Moret could have legitimately stopped the fight a round or two earlier.
Discretion aside, Lewis took Klitschko's best punches and was landing heavy shots of his own in increasing numbers as the fight wore on and Klitschko's vision worsened. A Klitschko victory was far from a foregone conclusion if the fight continued and was getting less and less likely as the rounds passed.
That said, the performance re-established the elder Klitschko as a legitimate contender. Lewis passed on a rematch any time in the near future and could well retire without defending his championship again.
That would leave an increasingly wide-open division completely up for grabs. Roy Jones Jr. holds the WBA belt, but recently reclaimed the light-heavyweight championship and has no immediate plans to defend the heavier crown. Stylish lefty Chris Byrd defended his IBF title with a close decision over Fres Oquendo in September, a fight that left him looking more vulnerable than ever.
Should Lewis announce his retirement, as expected, by spring, two belts would be left completely open with two others far from locked up. We won't even get into the other half-dozen or so "world" sanctioning bodies.
Since boxing organizations rarely agree on anything, unless there's huge money involved in doing so, at least six fighters not currently holding a belt should get a shot at one within the next six to nine months.
The survivor of Klitschko-Johnson should certainly be one of them. And barring a blink-and-you-miss-it blowout, the loser remains perfectly positioned to take on a rising young contender.
Somebody like, say, Joe Mesi.
Not that Mesi has a lot of climbing left to do. In its November rankings, the WBC jumped Mesi four spots, from No. 8 to No. 4. That elevation put Mesi ahead of Mike Tyson and behind only Klitschko, Corrie Sanders and David Tua.
The other organizations were less impressed with Mesi's win over Williamson. The WBA placed him ninth in its latest poll. The IBF doesn't have Mesi in its most recent Top 15, but then again, that troubled body has the beyond-decrepit Evander Holyfield at No. 11 and left its top two spots vacant for some reason.
Rankings have far more to do with the politics of boxing than the merits of the fighters, anyway. Speaking of which, the sport's arch-villain, Don King, has been "working overtime signing any live body within 15 places of the heavyweight division's Top 10" in his latest run at forcing Mesi into signing on with him.
Mesi has avoided the fate that doomed dozens of promising heavyweights so far, thanks mainly to the maneuvering of his father and manager, Jack, as well as agent Bob Spagnola and, for the last nine months, promoter Tony Holden.
If Mesi keeps winning, he keeps the upper hand in plotting the course for his career.
For at least one more night, that shouldn't be much of a problem.
Predictions: Mesi KO7 Barrett, Klitschko KO4 Johnson.
| Niagara Falls Reporter | www.niagarafallsreporter.com | December 2 2003 |