Sharkie’s Machine: “Baby Joe Steals The Show”

‘Baby’ Joe Mesi Vs. DaVarryl ‘T.O.S.’ Williamson
(27-0-0-25 KO’s) (18-2-0-16 KO’s)

By Frank Gonzalez Jr.

27.09 - “Baby” Joe Mesi ran over DaVarryl Williamson Saturday like a Mack Truck before a sold out house in Buffalo N.Y.

The fight started with Mesi charging forward, throwing bunches of punches that proved too much for the unsuspecting Williamson, who was caught several times before being dropped to the canvas in a fight that lasted 97 seconds.

There was a lot of talk recently about this fight being a defining moment for Joe Mesi. For DaVarryl “Touch Of Sleep” Williamson, it was viewed as a lateral move, career-wise. The reality is sobering for the Williamson camp. For Mesi, it’s time to take the Pampers off and move up.

Williamson looked dry as the fighters touched gloves to start the fight. Mesi took no time to feel Williamson out but instead relentlessly took the fight to him. It was a Heavyweight brawl with Joe’s speed and power punches leading the charge. “Touch of Sleep” was touched too many times by Mesi and found himself asleep on the canvas. This was a nightmare for Williamson.

So is Mesi THAT good, or was Williamson THAT bad? I think the benefit of the doubt is in order here, so I salute Joe Mesi and congratulate him on a job well done. Mesi did what fighters must do to guarantee victory; he took the Judge’s out of the equation. These days, that’s critical.

Bravo ‘Baby’ Joe.

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Even after an impressive first round knockout performance over a respectable fighter, many still think that Mesi remains untested. Williamson is arguably the best fighter Mesi has faced as a Pro and Williamson hardly offered any challenge.

During the Post Fight Interview, Mesi said he wasn’t so impressed with the other Heavies on the card. I thought he was subtly arrogant with that remark. He said that earlier, he was concerned about Juan Carlos Gomez, but not much after seeing him against Sinan Samil Sam. I thought Gomez was very effective in winning almost every round against Sam. But Gomez was often vulnerable to Sam’s right hands. Gomez also showed a lack of big power as he was scoring at will and was still unable to knock Sam out.

I still want to see how Joe reacts to a fighter that is not sleepwalking. Someone like Dominic Guinn, who in his bout against Duncan Dokwari, showed that he’s a good boxer, has a big chin and hits hard. As far as I can tell, Guinn may have been the best overall fighter on the whole card Saturday night. Can Mesi take a punch as well as he delivers one? How would he fare against a defensively skillful fighter? How would Mesi do against JC Gomez, a great boxer who has pretty good speed himself?

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As for DaVarryl Williamson, he’s a good mid-level fighter. His chin is a liability that will prevent him from rising to the top. His main problems Saturday night were poor mobility, lack of defense and looking clueless under pressure. Williamson was also too stiff. Had he moved better, he might’ve made it past the first round and given himself a better gauge of the task at hand. But we all know about would’ve, could’ve and should’ve.

Hopefully Williamson learned a valuable lesson from this experience. Quarterbacks are more effective when they avoid getting sacked. The same applies to boxers. I expect he will rebound from this and we’ll see him again.

With the Heavyweight division enduring its usual lack of depth in talented or even exciting fighters, the time is ripe for Mesi to move to the next level up in competition. The fact is—Mesi is exciting. How would Chris Byrd handle a quick surge from Mesi in the early rounds? Would Mesi win a decision over Fres Oquendo—if it were fought outside of Buffalo?

There are no really dominant fighters in the division. Lewis and Holyfield are fading away. Roy Jones Jr. is not for real at Heavyweight. He’s on his way back to the safety of 175-pound division to fight Antonio Tarver. Imagine JC Gomez moving back down? Hey, I’d like to see Jones take on Dominic Guinn, JC Gomez or Joe Mesi. But we know none of those fights would ever happen.

Vitali Klitschko looks like a dangerous proposition for Mesi as well as Corrie Sanders might be. Is Mesi ready for a Rahman?

Mike Tyson may be a shadow of his 1986 self but Mesi vs. Tyson would sell a lot of tickets—regardless of where they fight.

David Tua, the gatekeeper of the division’s elite would be an interesting match up for Joe. With Tua’s chin I doubt he’d succumb to Joe’s Tysonesque early onslaught. Unless Mesi is better than I give him credit for. Who knows? And somewhere in 10 rounds, we might find out if Mesi could take a punch as well as he gives.

Actually, the more you think about it, the Heavyweight division is out there for the taking. The emergence of JC Gomez, Dominic Guinn and Joe Mesi is exactly what the division needs. Before we anoint Joe Mesi the savior of the HW division, lets see him against a well-balanced fighter that can bang. For now, if he could beat Dominic Guinn, I’d be mighty impressed.

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Agree or disagree?

Send comments to dshark87@hotmail.com