Boxing

 

Another Big Win for Baby Joe

Paul-John Ramos

19.10 - Buffalo, New York - 16,000 fans of heavyweight Joe Mesi witnessed a pivotal moment in his career as he scored a TKO of faded David Izon at nine seconds of the ninth round in the HSBC Arena. Mesi (24-0, 22 KOs) has been a hot topic in recent weeks, viewed by many as a future threat to world titles, while others have been looking for more evidence of talent. Friday night's one-sided victory over Izon (27-5, 23 KOs) came against a former contender who is now battling age and business misfortunes, but the win still leaves little doubt of Mesi's place amongst upper-echelon competition.

A matchup with Izon seemed bold, but of lesser boldness as the rounds passed by. Unlike in his trouncings of obscure Keith McKnight and Talmadge Griffis, Mesi took up a boxing style and had Izon running in circles the entire bout. Mesi's performance was a rapid meltdown of Izon, as he used his power punches in spurts and stayed on the move, forcing Izon to chase after him.

Izon, 34, showed no ability to keep up with his younger counterpart and spent most of his energy tracking down Mesi, 28, rather than throwing punches. Izon sometimes went minutes without landing a serious shot, while Mesi forged towards the end of their bout and also Izon's place on the heavyweight scene.

Izon hit the canvas in round three, when a surprisingly soft right hand knocked him off balance. If not for his strong chin, Izon, 223 ¼, Pensacola, Florida, would have gone down several more times from the punches Mesi, 229 ½, Buffalo, New York, was landing flush onto his face. The torment continued into round eight, when Izon began to cave just before the bell. Mesi forced a stoppage soon afterward with Izon offering little resistance, a shell of the man who once fought such names as Michael Grant, Lou Savarese, and Fres Oquendo. Where one career seems to have ended, another seems to have begun for the Buffalo native known as Baby Joe.

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