In This Corner Riddick Bowe and "Baby" Joe Mesi
by
Buster Paris
3/9 - What would you do if what you loved doing was killing you? What would you do if what you were really good at doing were possibly going to be taken away? How would you handle your first face-to-face meeting with the man who had a hand in it all ending? February 25th’s Friday Night Fights on ESPN2 had a little bit more than just fights. There were two peripheral items on the agenda and both were related in their issue as well as their importance.
The issue at hand is brain damage and possibly death – “Baby” Joe Mesi and Riddick “Big Daddy” Bowe made an important appearance on Friday Night Fights, but not inside of the ring. They are having a battle outside the ring. Not with each other, but with boxing officials and commissions.
Here’s some background:
In 1995 Riddick Bowe was on top of the world, 38 wins and 1 loss. He had just finished one of the greatest trilogies of boxing and avenged his only loss with an incredible 8th round TKO over Evander Holyfield.
1996 things start getting a little strange…well a little more strange for Big Daddy. He had two back-to-back very surreal wins via disqualifications over the low hitting and volatile Andrew Golota.
Bowe’s behavior then starts to get curious and raises a few eyebrows. After the second Golota bout he joins up with the Marines and four days later he resigns. Then in 1999 he kidnaps his wife and children for which he serves an 18-month sentence.
This alarming behavior and the very noticeable change for the worse in his speech had many thinking Bowe may be suffering from brain damage due to repeated head blows received in the ring.
Riddick served his time and was released in May 2004. His plan was to recapture the Heavyweight crown and in September 2004 he hit the comeback trail winning by a second round knockout of Marcus Rhode (29 wins / 26 loses).
Currently Bowe is having trouble with the boxing commission and getting licensed. The feeling is that he has brain damage, which Riddick vehemently denies and ironically Riddick’s lawyer Johnnie Cochran tried to use a brain damage defense in his kidnapping trail and it wasn’t successful. Now before anyone out there gets all heated up and says “well he doesn’t deserve a license if he already said he has brain damage – duh”. C’mon - ask yourself honestly - to stay out of jail wouldn’t any one of us have said the same thing.
Sharing the same plight of sorts is “Baby” Joe Mesi. Mesi is also having troubles with the Nevada State Athletic Commission regarding his medical status. He has been suspended from boxing by the commission for having suffered a subdural hematoma – bleeding on the brain.
Let’s travel back to March 13 2004 – undefeated in 28 bouts “Baby” Joe Mesi is set to fight Vassiliy Jirov. This is an important fight for Mesi, it’s his next step up in class of fighter and would answer the question can he handle a higher caliber of opponent.
The fight itself was exceptional and tense. No one was sure if he had enough gas in the last 2 rounds to carry it off. Incredibly he did. The suspension was announced soon after his 10 round unanimous decision victory over Jirov. Not the best way to celebrate his 29th consecutive win.
Back to the present:
Joe appeared on a February 25th 2005 ESPN2 broadcast. This was a drama in the making because he was to be interviewed by Teddy Atlas – who according to ESPN2 broke the story of Mesi’s condition, which eventually led to Joe’s suspension.
I wasn’t sure what to expect. This is the guy you could easily blame for the turmoil your life is in. I at least expected some sour looks or something. Surprisingly there didn’t seem to be any hard feelings between the two. Teddy Atlas is such a genuine and stand up guy that you can’t be mad at him and Joe is handling things like a true professional.
As for his heath, Mesi said that his most recent test results have been good and that the neurologists he’s seen have also given him the ok.
What wasn’t said on the show, but was stated on Joe’s website is that there’s talk of Team Mesi filing a couple of lawsuits and I don’t blame them. Physicians Imaging Center of Western New York handed over 5 MRI’s to the New York State Athletic Commission and they in turn leaked them to the press. It’s all a waiting game now.
Both Bowe and Mesi have this similar battle and interestingly both are in different stages of their career.
Bowe is on the comeback trail at 37 years old. 43 wins and 1 loss and was once the Heavyweight Champion of the world. Mesi is really at the beginning of a crucial stage in his career with 29 wins, he’s undefeated and only 31 years old.
I love this sport and it pains me to consider the dangers of what could and does happen. I’m afraid for both men. I’m afraid of Riddick suffering deep brain damage and I’m afraid of Joe dying from a brain bleed.
I’m frustrated for the fighters. These are warriors, they fight, they win or they lose. They are fighters. Their bodies serve one purpose and that is to carry their will and create their ferocious art. A fighter’s left hook or jab or 1 –2 combination is a force of nature that can only be harnessed and contained by boxers, for boxers and we can barely appreciate the sports brutal grace from where we sit.
Fighters love to fight. That may sound obvious or silly, but let that soak in. Fighters love to fight.
Think about it for a minute. What’s your passion? What is it that you simply love to do? What would you do if what you loved doing was killing you? What would you do if what you were really good at were possibly going to be taken away?
As I sit here and type I wonder if these two will ever share the stage together on the inside of the ring. I wonder if their paths will cross again, but for a Heavyweight Championship fight.
The danger issue isn’t a new issue for boxing. It’s one of those issues boxing enthusiast uncomfortably address and my purpose here isn’t to open the debate on what can, should or should not be done to protect fighters. My purpose here is to take a look at the plight of these two and the plight of the sport itself and ask myself as well as ask you - what would we do if we were them or their families. I see both sides of the issue. What about you?
What should be done with Riddick Bowe and Joe Mesi and the next boxer? What if it were you? What if it were your son or daughter?
Discuss this at our Boxing Forum
