21.03.04 – By Ron DiMichele – Twenty-eight year old rising star, Dominick Guinn, now stands poised to burst into the top ten rankings of the heavyweight division. Blocking the aisle is Monte Barrett, a fringe contender fast becoming a gatekeeper for other fighter’s dreams. Get by Barrett (Joe Mesi,Wladimir Klitschko) proceed to the top ten and big money fights, lose to Barrett (Robert Wiggins, Erik Kirkland) go directly to heavyweight obscurity, do not pass go, do not collect a million dollars.
On Saturday, March 27th at the Alltell Arena in Little Rock, Arkansas native Guinn will face Barrett in an HBO 10-round co feature to the Jermain Taylor vs. Alex Bunema middleweight clash. Dominick ‘The Southern Disaster’ Guinn (24-0, 17KO’s) enters the bout riding the wave of two recent impressive ring triumphs. His seventh round demolition of once-heralded heavyweight title contender, Michael Grant, and a solid 10-round decision over tough Nigerian, Duncan Dokiwari, have all but thrust Guinn into the heavyweight title picture. Monte ‘Two Gunz’ Barrett (29-3, 16KO’s) will be looking to quash Guinn’s big run and jumpstart his own sputtering career.
Monte is no soft touch. Last September, the veteran from Queens, NY lost a razor-thin majority decision to Baby Joe Mesi, dropping Mesi for the first time in Mesi’s professional career.
Barrett, 32, brings fast hands, good movement, a good jab and decent punching power to the table. He’s a crafty veteran and he knows how to put punches together. Most importantly, he doesn’t roll over for anybody. In 2000, ‘Two Gunz’ climbed off the deck five times before succumbing to Wladimir Klitschko in a 7th round TKO. Barrett was down against Mesi in the fifth round before getting up and taking the fight right back to Baby Joe.
At 6’ tall and around 220 lbs, Barrett may seem small for today’s heavyweights, but he clearly believes he’s still in the mix for a title shot and that may be his greatest weapon.
Boxer-puncher Dominick Guinn does everything Monte Barrett does in the ring, only better. In addition, he’s younger, faster, moves better and hits harder. Guinn can take you out with either hand, but his left hook is especially quick and lethal. Even at the relatively small heavyweight size of 6’ 3” and 215 lbs., Guinn is plenty tough to hang with his bigger counterparts. But there’s still one serious concern in this fight, one potential weakness which Monte Barrett will look to exploit. The one chink in Guinn’s mighty armor may just be himself.
Guinn was not impressive in his last fight, and it wasn’t against Duncan Dokiwari. In November of 2003, Guinn won a 10-round decision against very average Derrick Banks. Despite having Banks down in the first round, reports state Guinn’s performance was lackluster and uninspired. Guinn himself has admitted he had trouble getting up for the fight. More so, even in Guinn’s big win against Dokiwari, Guinn trainer, Ronnie Shields, had to lay into him between rounds to wake up and get off with his punches. These kinds of lapses in an up-and-comer are an ominous sign. At this stage of Guinn’s career, there are no excuses for a let-up, regardless of the opponent.
Most view Joe Mesi’s victorious stumble against Vassiliy Jirov as good news for Guinn. Not so. Guinn needs Mesi. Baby Joe Mesi has stood as Guinn’s arch-nemesis and ruthless headline stealer. This imbalance in accolades is the craw in Guinn’s throat that puts the chip on his shoulder and the bad intentions in his punches. If Guinn, like many others, now dismisses Mesi as insignificant in the heavyweight title picture, what happens to that edge?
With Dominick Guinn emerging from Mesi’s large shadow, it’s possible he’ll be looking beyond Monte Barrett next Saturday night, looking beyond a lucrative showdown with Joe Mesi, and be gazing instead on the very highest echelons of the heavyweight title picture. If he isn’t focused on Monte Barrett and only Monte Barrett during this fight, The Southern Disaster may find himself looking up from the canvas. Just ask Joe.
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