BOXING
Mesi denies having clot on his brain
By TIM GRAHAM
News Sports Reporter
4/24/2004
Joe Mesi and his handlers insisted Friday the serious concerns boxing authorities have about his brain are unfounded.
Mesi, along with father and co-manager Jack Mesi, denied any notion the undefeated Town of Tonawanda heavyweight suffered bleeding in his brain during his March 13 bout with Vassiliy Jirov in Las Vegas.
The Mesis contended the injury was nothing more than a concussion.
But yet another state boxing official with intimate knowledge of the situation told The Buffalo News on Friday that Mesi has, indeed, suffered a subdural hematoma, or bleeding on the brain.
The source also predicted it would be "virtually impossible" for Mesi to fight again given the gravity of the case.
Multiple boxing regulators, including two prominent state athletic executives, previously told The News for a story published Friday they believed Mesi's injury was a subdural hematoma and that a postfight MRI done in Buffalo showed a blood clot on his brain.
The clot would indicate a subdural hematoma, the main cause of boxing-related deaths. The condition likely would force the end of Mesi's boxing career.
Boxers who survive the condition are strongly advised to refrain from training - even with headgear - much less compete against an opponent intent on causing harm.
Mesi, however, still wants to climb back into the ring. Talks apparently are ongoing for a pay-per-view bout with Mike Tyson. Some estimate Mesi could make around $2 million against the former undisputed heavyweight champ.
"We were told concussion," Mesi said Friday afternoon at Buffalo Niagara International Airport upon returning from Tulsa, Okla., where he met with promoter Tony Holden and attended fights. "It's not as big of a deal . . . I mean, we were just in Tulsa negotiating our next fight. I feel fabulous. I feel great. I'm going to be in the gym next week. I feel wonderful, you know?
"(The blood clot report is) completely exaggerated. It's not accurate. Blood clot? If I had a blood clot I'd have tubes coming out of my mouth and I'd have had brain surgery somewhere. Never been told I had a blood clot."
Mesi, 30, is on an indefinite suspension in Nevada because of the way his fight with Jirov ended.
Mesi was knocked down three times in the last two rounds - once in the ninth round and twice more in the 10th - but survived the pummeling to hang on for the victory. Afterward, Mesi complained of a headache and short-term memory loss.
An independent story appearing on boxing Web site Seconds-Out.com suggested Mesi could have died in the ring had his bout with Jirov lasted longer than the scheduled 10 rounds.
ESPN2 boxing analyst Teddy Atlas, citing his own sources, said on "Friday Night Fights" that Mesi's head injury was career-ending.
Mesi must provide sufficient medical documentation to the Nevada State Athletic Commission to have his suspension lifted. Nevada state law, however, calls for a mandatory, permanent ban for any fighter who has experienced any bleeding in the brain. New York's policy on subdural hematomas is similar.
Mesi has waited to submit his tests to the Nevada State Athletic Commission, even though Commissioner Dr. Flip Homansky said the tests could have been done within two days of the fight.
While the blood clot could be absorbed into the brain after one or two months and perhaps not show up any longer on an MRI, Nevada State Athletic Commission Executive Director Marc Ratner said Mesi's original postfight MRI will have to be submitted before the regulating body entertains lifting the suspension.
"The doctors did express a concern," Jack Mesi said. "We're going to wait until our doctor says we're OK and ready to start training again. We're going to send (the Nevada State Athletic Commission) the report. We're going to obey all the rules, and we're going to get back in the ring."
Joe Mesi is virtually banned from boxing in the United States until Nevada lifts its suspension.
The Muhammad Ali Act of 2000 orders all states to honor another state's boxing suspension. So Mesi cannot fight anywhere in the United States until Nevada gives the OK.
Many countries also honor U.S. suspensions out of respect, but China might not feel the need.
Jack Mesi said Friday the proposed Tyson match could take place in the Communist nation, which has been lobbying for an Iron Mike appearance for years and wouldn't hesitate to overlook a suspension imposed 6,500 miles away.
"The important thing is I feel great," Joe Mesi said. "Listen, I would never jeopardize my life. I feel fabulous. I'm ready to go training. I'm ready to get it on."
Mesi has admitted to hiding medical problems from regulators in the past.
He revealed after enduring his first professional knockdown Dec. 6 against Monte Barrett in Madison Square Garden that he whacked himself above the eye with the door of his sport utility vehicle a few weeks before.
Mesi required stitches and stopped training because of the cut in his eyebrow. He cited the freak accident as the reason he came into the fight overweight and out of shape, yet Mesi shielded the injury from New York officials and HBO executives.
Members of Mesi's camp proudly displayed X-rays of Mesi's broken thumb after he beat Jorge Luis Gonzalez three years ago in Niagara Falls. Had commissioners known of the broken thumb beforehand, the fight would have been canceled.
Mesi denies having clot on his brain
By TIM GRAHAM
News Sports Reporter
4/24/2004
Joe Mesi and his handlers insisted Friday the serious concerns boxing authorities have about his brain are unfounded.
Mesi, along with father and co-manager Jack Mesi, denied any notion the undefeated Town of Tonawanda heavyweight suffered bleeding in his brain during his March 13 bout with Vassiliy Jirov in Las Vegas.
The Mesis contended the injury was nothing more than a concussion.
But yet another state boxing official with intimate knowledge of the situation told The Buffalo News on Friday that Mesi has, indeed, suffered a subdural hematoma, or bleeding on the brain.
The source also predicted it would be "virtually impossible" for Mesi to fight again given the gravity of the case.
Multiple boxing regulators, including two prominent state athletic executives, previously told The News for a story published Friday they believed Mesi's injury was a subdural hematoma and that a postfight MRI done in Buffalo showed a blood clot on his brain.
The clot would indicate a subdural hematoma, the main cause of boxing-related deaths. The condition likely would force the end of Mesi's boxing career.
Boxers who survive the condition are strongly advised to refrain from training - even with headgear - much less compete against an opponent intent on causing harm.
Mesi, however, still wants to climb back into the ring. Talks apparently are ongoing for a pay-per-view bout with Mike Tyson. Some estimate Mesi could make around $2 million against the former undisputed heavyweight champ.
"We were told concussion," Mesi said Friday afternoon at Buffalo Niagara International Airport upon returning from Tulsa, Okla., where he met with promoter Tony Holden and attended fights. "It's not as big of a deal . . . I mean, we were just in Tulsa negotiating our next fight. I feel fabulous. I feel great. I'm going to be in the gym next week. I feel wonderful, you know?
"(The blood clot report is) completely exaggerated. It's not accurate. Blood clot? If I had a blood clot I'd have tubes coming out of my mouth and I'd have had brain surgery somewhere. Never been told I had a blood clot."
Mesi, 30, is on an indefinite suspension in Nevada because of the way his fight with Jirov ended.
Mesi was knocked down three times in the last two rounds - once in the ninth round and twice more in the 10th - but survived the pummeling to hang on for the victory. Afterward, Mesi complained of a headache and short-term memory loss.
An independent story appearing on boxing Web site Seconds-Out.com suggested Mesi could have died in the ring had his bout with Jirov lasted longer than the scheduled 10 rounds.
ESPN2 boxing analyst Teddy Atlas, citing his own sources, said on "Friday Night Fights" that Mesi's head injury was career-ending.
Mesi must provide sufficient medical documentation to the Nevada State Athletic Commission to have his suspension lifted. Nevada state law, however, calls for a mandatory, permanent ban for any fighter who has experienced any bleeding in the brain. New York's policy on subdural hematomas is similar.
Mesi has waited to submit his tests to the Nevada State Athletic Commission, even though Commissioner Dr. Flip Homansky said the tests could have been done within two days of the fight.
While the blood clot could be absorbed into the brain after one or two months and perhaps not show up any longer on an MRI, Nevada State Athletic Commission Executive Director Marc Ratner said Mesi's original postfight MRI will have to be submitted before the regulating body entertains lifting the suspension.
"The doctors did express a concern," Jack Mesi said. "We're going to wait until our doctor says we're OK and ready to start training again. We're going to send (the Nevada State Athletic Commission) the report. We're going to obey all the rules, and we're going to get back in the ring."
Joe Mesi is virtually banned from boxing in the United States until Nevada lifts its suspension.
The Muhammad Ali Act of 2000 orders all states to honor another state's boxing suspension. So Mesi cannot fight anywhere in the United States until Nevada gives the OK.
Many countries also honor U.S. suspensions out of respect, but China might not feel the need.
Jack Mesi said Friday the proposed Tyson match could take place in the Communist nation, which has been lobbying for an Iron Mike appearance for years and wouldn't hesitate to overlook a suspension imposed 6,500 miles away.
"The important thing is I feel great," Joe Mesi said. "Listen, I would never jeopardize my life. I feel fabulous. I'm ready to go training. I'm ready to get it on."
Mesi has admitted to hiding medical problems from regulators in the past.
He revealed after enduring his first professional knockdown Dec. 6 against Monte Barrett in Madison Square Garden that he whacked himself above the eye with the door of his sport utility vehicle a few weeks before.
Mesi required stitches and stopped training because of the cut in his eyebrow. He cited the freak accident as the reason he came into the fight overweight and out of shape, yet Mesi shielded the injury from New York officials and HBO executives.
Members of Mesi's camp proudly displayed X-rays of Mesi's broken thumb after he beat Jorge Luis Gonzalez three years ago in Niagara Falls. Had commissioners known of the broken thumb beforehand, the fight would have been canceled.
