Joe Mesi vs Vassily Jirov Underrated Heavyweight Classic.
Thought this was one of the best Heavyweight fights of the decade, never see this mentioned. Joe Mesi dominates the fight for the first 8 rounds, then gets knocked down 3 times in the last 2 rounds barely hanging up to edge out a razor thin close decision.
Re: Joe Mesi vs Vassily Jirov Underrated Heavyweight Classic.
Say what you will of 'Baby' Joe Mesi, but he was an entertaining fighter. He was well on his way to a WBA title shot when he was injured & forced to retire. The fight between him and Monte Barrett was solid too. Mesi was never a world beater, but he was a fun fighter to watch. I still wished he and Guinn got the chance to fight, they were on a collision course before Guinn lost to Barrett, then Lyakhovich, then Thompson and was finished as a contender.
Re: Joe Mesi vs Vassily Jirov Underrated Heavyweight Classic.
Yes Mesi was a good honest what was the reason for retirement? Head injury? Heard he is a politician.
Re: Joe Mesi vs Vassily Jirov Underrated Heavyweight Classic.
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Master
Yes Mesi was a good honest what was the reason for retirement? Head injury? Heard he is a politician.
Brain bleed after/caused by the Jirov fight
Re: Joe Mesi vs Vassily Jirov Underrated Heavyweight Classic.
Quote:
Originally Posted by
El Kabong
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Master
Yes Mesi was a good honest what was the reason for retirement? Head injury? Heard he is a politician.
Brain bleed after/caused by the Jirov fight
So is he a republican now?
Re: Joe Mesi vs Vassily Jirov Underrated Heavyweight Classic.
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Master
Quote:
Originally Posted by
El Kabong
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Master
Yes Mesi was a good honest what was the reason for retirement? Head injury? Heard he is a politician.
Brain bleed after/caused by the Jirov fight
So is he a republican now?
Nope, Democrat
Re: Joe Mesi vs Vassily Jirov Underrated Heavyweight Classic.
Love watching jirov fights....
The Norris fight was a great fight too, toney fight was amazing.
Re: Joe Mesi vs Vassily Jirov Underrated Heavyweight Classic.
Quote:
Originally Posted by
El Kabong
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Master
Yes Mesi was a good honest what was the reason for retirement? Head injury? Heard he is a politician.
Brain bleed after/caused by the Jirov fight
It seemed like after the rabbit punch knockdown, Joe Mesi was totally done for. That punch seemed to effect him badly and was probably the cause of the injuries.
Re: Joe Mesi vs Vassily Jirov Underrated Heavyweight Classic.
Quote:
Originally Posted by
ICB
It seemed like after the rabbit punch knockdown, Joe Mesi was totally done for. That punch seemed to effect him badly and was probably the cause of the injuries.
Yup, and also Jirov was completely finished after this fight as well. He went 5(3 KO)-1-1, getting KO'd by an ancient Michael Moorer directly after the loss to Mesi.
Re: Joe Mesi vs Vassily Jirov Underrated Heavyweight Classic.
Nice scrap yeh. Never gravitated to Mesi as a fan and thought Barret def beat him and never thought Jirov belonged at hvy at all. I think alot of his damage also came from the go with Monte. Mesi had alot of moxie and was brought up like I wish more yng hvys were. A number of soft touches but a few 'name' war horses in there and battering Izon on the big stage soon after. He did very well with the tool he had, not to mention a pretty sharp mind and personality.
Re: Joe Mesi vs Vassily Jirov Underrated Heavyweight Classic.
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Spicoli
Nice scrap yeh. Never gravitated to Mesi as a fan and thought Barret def beat him and never thought Jirov belonged at hvy at all. I think alot of his damage also came from the go with Monte. Mesi had alot of moxie and was brought up like I wish more yng hvys were. A number of soft touches but a few 'name' war horses in there and battering Izon on the big stage soon after. He did very well with the tool he had, not to mention a pretty sharp mind and personality.
Agreed...though I felt he nicked it vs Barrett.
Mesi hit his peak...it's sad he never got a title shot but even vs Valuev it would have been tough for him to win. I think a fight vs Ruiz would have been solid too. I think Mesi-Golota would have been a solid fight as well, also Mesi-Byrd or Mesi-McCline.
Re: Joe Mesi vs Vassily Jirov Underrated Heavyweight Classic.
Quote:
Originally Posted by
beenKOed
Mesi impressed me, he was well spoken and knew boxing top to bottom. Was sure he would get into announcing or calling fights. What is he doing?
Good question, last I heard was the running for office of some sort. He was on Espn quite a few times talking about push to get his license back as well as in studio guest. Yeh, he was top notch calling action.
Lyle you got me thinking. If a Golota or giant like McCline had the mentality of a Mesi, they may have mad much more noise, in a good way. Some guys have a taste for the fire and some don't I guess.
Re: Joe Mesi vs Vassily Jirov Underrated Heavyweight Classic.
I saw jirov workout between the Mesi and Moorer fights.
Re: Joe Mesi vs Vassily Jirov Underrated Heavyweight Classic.
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Spicoli
Nice scrap yeh. Never gravitated to Mesi as a fan and thought Barret def beat him and never thought Jirov belonged at hvy at all. I think alot of his damage also came from the go with Monte. Mesi had alot of moxie and was brought up like I wish more yng hvys were. A number of soft touches but a few 'name' war horses in there and battering Izon on the big stage soon after. He did very well with the tool he had, not to mention a pretty sharp mind and personality.
Agreed on both counts. Barret won that fight no doubt. He upset the apple cart against Mesi and Dominick Guinn as far as I'm concerned.
I got a kick out of Michael Moorer KO'n Jirov as this time he played the part of the fat aging former HW champion, except because the fight was essentially meaningless to the division nobody gave a shit ;D