Joe Mesi Scores First Round KO On Undercard
Tonight at the Mountaineer Racetrack in Chester, West Virginia, ex- WBO Heavyweight Champion Tommy “The Duke” Morrison threw off over ten years of inactivity to knock out opponent John Castle in two rounds.
38 year old Morrison, 47-3-1 (41), was recently released from prison and cleared from an apparent 10 year old HIV misdiagnosis.
Morrison was slow to adjust to his opponent in round one but in the second frame, finished the 35 year old Castle, 4-3 (2), with a full blooded left hook at 1:49 of the round.
Also on the bill, Joe Mesi, another heavyweight who had experienced a medical related layoff, did Morrison one better by knocking out opponent George Linberger at 1:55 of the first round.
After being forced to sit out of the sport for two years following a brutal fight with Vassiliy Jirov, 33 year old Mesi, 34-0 (27), posted his best win since returning to boxing ten months and five contests ago.
Linberger, 29-9-1 (25), was coming off a split decision win over Eric “Butterbean” Esch in October, 2005.