24.06.06 – By Jeff Bastasini: Joe Mesi (31-0, 25 KO’s) in his second fight since returning from injury suspension, earned a 6-round unanimous decision over Canadian, Stephane Tessier (3-8, 1 KO) on Friday night at the Uniprix Stadium, in Montreal, Canada. However, Mesi, 32, looked far from impressive, appearing to be at least 10 lbs overweight and much slower than he was before his suspension began two years earlier.
His once impressive handspeed seems to have vanished, including most his power, since his punches looked weak and had no effect on Tessier. Nevertheless, it hardly mattered against a fighter as limited as Tessier, 33, who was clearly out of his league against Mesi. The fight was one-sided from the beginning with Mesi landing continously and using ring movement to set up shots. However, Tessier had his moments, tagging Mesi with left hooks and straight rights that snapped Mesi’s head back. I personally didn’t like Mesi’s reaction to the blows, as he seemed bothered by the punches, even though Tessier isn’t noted for having a lot of power.
Mesi’s defense was largely nonexistent, as he seemed unable to block punches, even the slow telegraphed punches thrown by Tessier. Instead, Mesi was forced to use lots of ring movement to avoid Tessier’s attacks. It looked odd, somehow, the picture of Mesi, a fighter with 25 KO’s on his record, being stalked by a fighter with only 1 KO in his short career. In the 6th and final round, Mesi threw over 90 punches, looking to finish strong with a knockout, perhaps.
However, towards the end of the round, Mesi looked tired and was eating big right hands by Tessier and looked to be one or two shots away from being stopped. The final judges scores were 60-54, 60-54 and 59-55, all for Mesi. Overall, I was not impressed with Mesi, and I don’t like his chances against a top ten fighter, even if Mesi does lose the weight. Mesi will be returning to the ring, most likely next month.