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Undefeated American heavyweight Joe Mesi wants to fight again, despite tests that appear to show bleeding on his brain from his last bout. Mesi submitted medical results to Nevada boxing officials, the first step in an attempt to resume a career that’s been on hold since his March fight with Vassiliy Jirov. Marc Ratner, executive director of the Nevada Athletic Commission, said a thick packet of Mesi’s medical reports arrived on Wednesday. The reports will be reviewed and forwarded to the commission’s medical advisory board, Ratner said on Thursday. If it finds the submission complete, the commission could hold a hearing early next year to determine whether to allow Mesi to resume fighting.
“It’s all in there,” Mesi’s father and manager Jack Mesi told The Associated Press. “I’m confident he’s 100 percent healthy and ready to go. And the commission needs to see that and will. … We gave them everything and we want to get it over with.” Joe Mesi (29-0) was the WBC’s top-ranked contender before falling out of the ratings entirely in October. He’s been suspended indefinitely, pending a review of his medical records, since he won a unanimous decision over Jirov despite being knocked down three times in the final two rounds.
Mesi said he only sustained a concussion and initially balked at submitting his medical records. The commission, though, believes several post-fight tests show Mesi sustained a subdural hematoma, or bleeding on the brain. Any sign of bleeding could lead the Nevada commission to issue a permanent fighting ban, which would be enforced throughout the United States. Mesi has one fight left on a three-bout contract he signed with HBO last year. He is currently without a promoter after Tony Holden resigned in August.
