Joe Mesi - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

"Baby" Joe Mesi is an American boxer

Boxing

Boxing, also called pugilism, is a combat sport in which two people fight each other using their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee over a series of between one to three minute intervals called rounds...

and politician from Tonawanda, New York

Tonawanda, New York

Tonawanda may refer to:*Glacial Lake Tonawanda*North Tonawanda, New York, a city in Niagara County, north across Tonawanda Creek from the City and Town*Tonawanda , New York, consisting of the Town of Tonawanda less the Village of Kenmore...

. He is a registered member of the Democratic Party

Democratic Party (United States)

The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...

Early life

Joe grew up in Tonawanda, New York

New York

New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...

, a suburb of Buffalo

Buffalo, New York

Buffalo is the second most populous city in the state of New York, after New York City. Located in Western New York on the eastern shores of Lake Erie and at the head of the Niagara River across from Fort Erie, Ontario, Buffalo is the seat of Erie County and the principal city of the...

. He attended Sweet Home High School in Amherst

Amherst, New York

Amherst is a town in Erie County, New York, United States. As of the 2010 census, the town had a total population of 122,366. This represents an increase of 5.0% from the 2000 census. The town is named for Jeffrey Amherst, a British Army officer of the colonial period...

, New York

New York

. He did not start his boxing career until he was about 19 years of age.

Boxing career

He was a New York State Golden Gloves

Golden Gloves

The Golden Gloves is the name given to annual competitions for amateur boxing in the United States. The Golden Gloves is often the term used to refer to the National Golden Gloves competition, but it also can represent several other amateur tournaments, including regional golden gloves...

champion, and as an amateur boxer he defeated Hasim Rahman

Hasim Rahman

Hasim Sharif Rahman is an American professional boxer. Rahman is the former Lineal, WBC, IBO, & IBF heavyweight champion...

. In Buffalo, for a brief period, Joe was once considered by some to be the city's "third professional franchise," with the Buffalo Sabres

Buffalo Sabres

The Buffalo Sabres are a professional ice hockey team based in Buffalo, New York. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League .-Founding and early success: 1970-71—1980-81:...

and Buffalo Bills

Buffalo Bills

The Buffalo Bills are a professional football team based in Buffalo, New York. They are currently members of the East Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...

being the other two. Joe is often seen at Bills and Sabres games and also supports many local charities.

Injury and suspension

Mesi's promising boxing career was set back greatly when he was wrongly alleged to have suffered two subdural hematoma

Subdural hematoma

A subdural hematoma or subdural haematoma , also known as a subdural haemorrhage , is a type of haematoma, a form of traumatic brain injury. Blood gathers within the outermost meningeal layer, between the dura mater, which adheres to the skull, and the arachnoid mater, which envelops the brain...

s. It was revealed later by multiple independent medical professionals, that all he had actually suffered was a concussion. (Not supported by citation)

The injuries were derived from 2004 controversial bout with former cruiserweight champion Vassiliy Jirov

Vassiliy Jirov

Vassiliy "The Tiger" Jirov is a professional Kazakh boxer and former IBF cruiserweight champion, currently fighting out of Las Vegas under Thell Torrence...

. In round 9, Jirov threw an illegal blow to the back of Mesi's head. Mesi went down from the illegal blow in the 9th and twice in the final round, but managed to finish the fight injured. The bout was scored 94-93 for Mesi by all three judges (i.e., won by unanimous decision

Unanimous decision

A unanimous decision is a winning criterion in several full-contact combat sports, such as boxing, kickboxing, Muay Thai, mixed martial arts and others sports involving striking in which all three judges agree on which fighter won the match....

),

Mesi presented evidence that he never actually sustained any internal brain bleeding to the Nevada commission, but they ignored it and suspended him. The suspension effectively blacklist

Blacklist

A blacklist is a list or register of entities who, for one reason or another, are being denied a particular privilege, service, mobility, access or recognition. As a verb, to blacklist can mean to deny someone work in a particular field, or to ostracize a person from a certain social circle...

ed him from boxing anywhere in the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

under the premise of the full faith and credit clause

Full Faith and Credit Clause

The Full Faith and Credit Clause is the familiar name used to refer to Article IV, Section 1 of the United States Constitution, which addresses the duties that states within the United States have to respect the "public acts, records, and judicial proceedings of every other state." According to...

. He launched several ineffective lawsuits against parties they claimed had 'leaked' news of his health, while also appealing to Nevada representatives that he should be allowed to box. The suspension was officially lifted when Mesi's Nevada boxing license expired at the end of 2005. However, he was unable to renew the license due to the concerns of Nevada boxing officials. Mesi has since been licensed by the Puerto Rican

Puerto Rico

Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...

Boxing Commission in February 2006, the Louisiana

Louisiana

Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...

State Boxing Commission in June 2006, the Arkansas

Arkansas

Arkansas is a state located in the southern region of the United States. Its name is an Algonquian name of the Quapaw Indians. Arkansas shares borders with six states , and its eastern border is largely defined by the Mississippi River...

State Boxing Commission in August 2006, the Michigan

Michigan

Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....

State Boxing Commission in September 2006, the West Virginia

West Virginia

West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian and Southeastern regions of the United States, bordered by Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Ohio to the northwest, Pennsylvania to the northeast and Maryland to the east...

State Boxing Commission in February 2007, and the Rhode Island

Rhode Island

The state of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, more commonly referred to as Rhode Island , is a state in the New England region of the United States. It is the smallest U.S. state by area...

State Boxing Commission in October 2007.

Joe Mesi has one of the longest active undefeated professional boxing records in the world for a heavyweight. Ranked #1 heavyweight contender by the WBC prior to his two-year layoff, Mesi was #16 in the December 2007 rankings. He has not actively boxed since 2007, having instead turned to politics.

Political career

On February 14, 2008, Mesi publicly expressed his interest to run for the New York State Senate

New York State Senate

The New York State Senate is one of two houses in the New York State Legislature and has members each elected to two-year terms. There are no limits on the number of terms one may serve...

. He attempted to fill the 61st District seat vacated by Mary Lou Rath

Mary Lou Rath

Mary Lou Rath is a former state senator in New York. A Republican, she represents the state's 61st Senate District, which consists of parts of Erie County and all of Genesee County. In January 2007, she was appointed to the post of Deputy Majority Leader for State/Federal Relations, making her the...

. He won the Democratic primary for the seat on September 9, 2008. Mesi received significant support from Tom Golisano

Tom Golisano

Blase Thomas Golisano is an American businessman and philanthropist. He is the founder of Paychex, the second-largest payroll processor in the United States and former co-owner of the Buffalo Sabres hockey team and of the Buffalo Bandits lacrosse team...

's "Responsible New York" political action committee, and has been accused of illegally coordinating his campaign with theirs. Mesi lost the general election to Republican Michael Ranzenhofer.

Most recently, Joe has taken a position with the Democrat Senate Majority heading up a local Buffalo liaison office. This newly created job is very controversial since it pays $70,000 a year plus benefits and is considered a "patronage" job by many, while the state of New York is in hard financial times. Ironically, Joe campaigned against such position while running for New York State Senate.http://www.votejoemesi.com/; however Joe claims he is qualified for this position.

Mesi has been circulated as a potential Democratic candidate to replace the retiring Jim Hayes in the New York State Assembly

New York State Assembly

The New York State Assembly is the lower house of the New York State Legislature. The Assembly is composed of 150 members representing an equal number of districts, with each district having an average population of 128,652...

Professional boxing record

Shannon Miller
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Ron Johnson
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George Linberger
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Jason Weiss
|UD
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Dennis Matthews
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Stephane Tessier
|UD
|6
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Ronald Bellamy
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Vassiliy Jirov

Vassiliy "The Tiger" Jirov is a professional Kazakh boxer and former IBF cruiserweight champion, currently fighting out of Las Vegas under Thell Torrence...

|UD
|10
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Monte Barrett

Monte Barrett is an American professional heavyweight boxer. He was regarded by many as a tough gatekeeper and was a former WBC Continental Americas Heavyweight Champion and current WBO Asia Pacific Heavyweight and WBO Oriental Heavyweight champion...

|MD
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DaVarryl Williamson

DaVarryl Williamson is an American boxer originally from Washington, D.C., but later a resident of Aurora, Colorado. His ring nickname is "Touch of Sleep". He has a current professional record of 26-6, 22KO...

|KO
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Robert Davis
|TKO
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Jason Curry
|KO
|2
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David Izon

David Izonritei

David Izonritei is a former Nigerian boxer. Also known as David Izon, Izonritei won the Heavyweight silver medal at the 1992 Summer Olympics.-Amateur career:...

|KO
|9
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Talmadge Griffis
|TKO
|5
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Keith McKnight
|TKO
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Derrick Banks
|TKO
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Bert Cooper

Bertram Cooper , also known as Smokin' Bert Cooper is a heavyweight boxer, most famous for his devastating punching power and several wild brawls in the 1990s.-Pro career:...

|TKO
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Jorge Luis Gonzalez

Jorge Luis González is a former heavyweight boxing contender and prospect born in Havana, Cuba. He won the gold medal at the 1983 Pan American Games and the 1987 Pan American Games and the former WBO Latino Heavyweight Champion.-Amateur:González compiled an Amateur Record of 220-13...

|TKO
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Joey Guy
|TKO
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Matthew Green
|KO
|2
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John Rainwater
|TKO
|3
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Gary Winmon
|TKO
|1
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Anthony Green
|TKO
|8
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Rowyan Wallace
|KO
|2
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Brian Sargent
|KO
|1
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Dwayne Hall
|TKO
|1
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Rodney McSwain
|TKO
|3
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Jihad Abdulaziz
|UD
|4
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Martin Lopez
|KO
|3
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Kevin Rosier

Kevin Rosier is an American former kickboxer, boxer and mixed martial artist. He had much success as a kickboxer, winning a number of titles, but did not transition particularly well into the world of boxing and was mostly seen as a journeyman fighter...

|TKO
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Art Bayliss
|KO
|1
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Mike McGrady
|TKO
|2
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Darryl Spratt
|KO
|1
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Calvin Smith
|UD
|4
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Jim Brackney
|KO
|2
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Dwane Cason Allen
|KO
|1
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Accomplishments

1993 - Empire State Games
Empire State Games
The Empire State Games are a set of annual Olympic-style competitions for amateur athletes from the state of New York, encompassing several divisions and allowing athletes of all ages to compete. It was a member of the National Congress of State Games...

Gold Medalist
1993 - New York State Golden Gloves
Golden Gloves
The Golden Gloves is the name given to annual competitions for amateur boxing in the United States. The Golden Gloves is often the term used to refer to the National Golden Gloves competition, but it also can represent several other amateur tournaments, including regional golden gloves...

Champion - Super Heavyweight Division
1995 - New York State Golden Gloves Champion - Super Heavyweight Division
1996 - New York State Golden Gloves Champion - Super Heavyweight Division
1996 - United States Olympic Alternate
Boxing at the 1996 Summer Olympics
-Qualification:The following tournaments were used as qualification tournaments for boxing at the 1996 Summer Olympics.Africa* All-Africa Games in Harare, Zimbabwe from September 13 to September 23, 1995* Qualification Tournament in April/May? 1996...

- Super Heavyweight Division
1999 - New York State Heavyweight Champion
2003 - North American Boxing Federation
North American Boxing Federation
The North American Boxing Federation is a not-for-profit regional sanctioning body that awards regional boxing titles. It is a boxing federation within the World Boxing Council .-History:...

Heavyweight Champion
2007 - World Boxing Council
World Boxing Council
The World Boxing Council was initially established by 11 countries: the United States, Argentina, United Kingdom, France, Mexico, Philippines, Panama, Chile, Peru, Venezuela and Brazil plus Puerto Rico, met in Mexico City on February 14, 1963, upon invitation of the then President of Mexico, Adolfo...

USNBC Heavyweight Champion

External links

BabyJoeMesi.com - Official website of Joe Mesi

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