Mesi drops Miller in one!

Ringside by Scott Ploof and Peter Mark Heintzelman
Photos by Emily Harney
- FightWireImages.com

What was billed as the “Clash of the Titans” on Friday night at the Twin River Events Center in Lincoln, Rhode Island, was instead more like Goliath squashing David.

Undefeated former number one heavyweight contender “Baby” Joe Mesi (36-0, 29 KOs) made short work of the usually durable Shannon Miller (15-4, 9 KOs).

Mesi, after landing a barrage of punches, connected with a strong right hand at 2:51 of the first round. The punch immediately crumbled Miller to the canvas, causing referee Joey Lupino to stop the fight. With the victory, Mesi also captured the USNBC (WBC United States) heavyweight belt.  

Speaking about the punch, Mesi said afterwards, “My right hand is really my best punch, but we have been working on the hook with this kid, and I know that I do already have a good hook. I was really thinking all day long that it was going to be the left hand, but I always kind of fall back to my right hand. I went over his jab and landed with my right hand. It is my most dangerous punch. It worked again.”

Mesi traded jabs with Miller early in the fight, displaying the better speed and footwork. Mesi then landed with a left hook that got Miller’s attention as he immediately countered with a jab. It was at that point that Mesi knew he had the fight in control as he punished Miller into the corner with a combination of hooks to the body. Miller, who was defensive throughout, was unable to prevent the onslaught any longer and got caught with the right hand.

Miller was billed going into this fight as the toughest test to date for Joe Mesi since his return from injury. Mesi said of Miller, “Shannon did not hit me that much, and he was not the hardest hitting puncher I have faced. What Shannon does offer is the most courage, the most heart. He was the toughest. Here is a guy who gets knocked down and gets back up to win. Here is a guy who had the fight of the year on ESPN a couple of times. He is an exciting fighter. I knew coming in that I was better than him. I knew coming in that I was going to win. I had no idea that the fight would end that way, no one has ever finished off Shannon like that before, not in his whole career. So I thought I would win in maybe five, eight, ten, or a decision, but definitely not like that.” 

When asked about his performance tonight, Mesi responded to the media by saying, “I felt good. I felt very relaxed. I felt as if it was the first fight since my comeback that I feel like I am the old Joe Mesi, before the injury. I feel like I’m getting back to where I was. My timing, conditioning, and weight are all back. I think three more fights, stepping up each time, and I could be in line for a title shot. I hope to be back in the top 10 soon.”

Mesi continued to speak about his first fight in the state of Rhode Island, “Of course I am known as the third franchise in Western New York, and I love my home in Western New York. But this is now becoming my second home, largely because of the Italian-American population, but mainly because of Jimmy Burchfield and his CES team. This is my first fight under his banner, but I feel very much at home here. I was welcomed here with open arms and I cannot wait to come back and I think that New England might become my new home.”

On the subject of not being able to fight in the state of New York, Mesi went on to say that it, “hurts the sport of boxing. My quote is that I may not be the best heavyweight in the world, but I can and will become the heavyweight champion. Do I need a New York license to do it? No, I can become heavyweight champion of the world anywhere, it is a global sport. It is hurtful to boxing, hurtful to me, my opponents, my promoters, and to everybody that we are not fighting in New York State. I offer a lot. I offer exciting fights. I offer a lot of money. I offer a lot to the sport of boxing in the heavyweight division, so we have to get back into New York and we are going to go to the governor to try and get this turned around.”

In speaking about why he chose Jimmy Burchfield and CES as his promoter, Mesi said, “Look, the Don Kings and Bob Arums have come calling and we have dealt with all of them, and have done business happily with all of them, but when it came down to spending a long period of time with a promoter, and after my controversial return to the ring, I sat down and spoke with my father. We knew we needed help and we needed more assistance and it was time to sign with a promoter. Largely before my controversy, Team Mesi was calling the shots. We could do what we wanted to do and go where we wanted to go. Things are different now and we needed assistance, and who better to do that than Jimmy Burchfield and his team?”

As for his next fight, there are two potential front runners at this time. Rumor has it that negotiations for a possible fight with Brian Minto are on-going. There has also been talk about a potential showdown with undefeated Roman Greenberg, although nothing has been finalized. -- Scott Ploof

Big Six Sends Northey South!

Jason “Big Six” Estrada notched his second professional knockout, and elevated his record to 10-1, 2 KOs, by soundly defeating Jim Northey in a heavyweight bout that ended three minutes into the fourth round.

Estrada was in charge in all four rounds. He landed a devastating series of body and head shots that sent Northey to the canvas and left him gasping for air. “I always knew I had power,” said Estrada.

In the first round, Northey jabbed and circled, while Estrada calmly stood his ground and countered with heavier replies. When they traded punches inside, Estrada’s power racked up the points with powerful right hooks to Northey’s noggin. Northey’s reply, to circle and jab, left him winded early. He visibly sucked in air early in round one. Estrada practiced his body shots to get the judges’ nod in round one.

In round two, Estrada cornered his prey, landing a pair of enormous right hooks to the head. After the fight, Estrada commented “I caught him with a nice shot, and he let me know I caught him with it. Instead of shaking it off, he actually shook his head, like that was a good shot. As soon as I saw that, I jumped right on him, but I didn’t go crazy.” Northey ended the round with his gloves down and his mouth open.

The third round saw Estrada light on his feet, and Northey more flat-footed, while Estrada racked up the points with jabs and head shots. Estrada landed a right hook to the chin, opening Northey’s mouth all the wider, then waived for Northey to come inside and mix it up. Northey seemed too gassed to respond.

“I tried to talk to him on the inside, just to get him out of his game plan. He was too comfortable in there, walking and turning his back on me and stuff, so, every time we would get a clinch, I would call him a punk, anything I could, just to rough him up a little bit. And it worked. He got out of his game plan, and he tried to come at me,” reflected Estrada after the fight.

In the fourth, Northey courageously came forward, desperately grasping for points. Estrada patiently awaited the openings, seemingly content to watch Northey punch himself out. Northey landed a great body shot, but Estrada shook his head as if to say, “no problem.” Estrada visibly measured Northey circling away, and tagged him with the final body and head shots that laid Northey out while the screaming crowd fell out of their chairs from the excitement of it all!

A late substitute for this fight, “Dangerous” Jim Northey, the former NABC & NABC Americas’ Champion, from Brookville, Pennsylvania, can hold his head high, having giving it a valiant attempt. He suffered only his second loss and is now 11-2 with 8 KOs.

With the second knockout of his profession career, Estrada made a big exclamation point in Rhode Island, elevating his record to 10-1, 2 KOs, and asserting himself as a rising contender in the heavyweight division.

“I worked hard for this, you know. So, I made sure that, soon as I saw that he was rocked, I was going to get him out of there early. I had to. I needed this. People say I can’t punch. I can punch when I want to punch. I just choose not to because, you gonna get bumps and bruises, I wanted to get out of there with no bruises, and get a cut and I’m off for two months, so I’m just glad I got him outta there without really getting any serious injuries.” -- By Peter Mark Heintzelman

Lopes UD4 Albino!

Manuel Antonio Lopes (4-0, 1 KO) made his hometown of Brockton, Massachusetts, proud by scoring a dominating four-round unanimous decision over Zeferino Albino (2-2, 1 KO).

All three judges scored the bout 40-36. Lopes who had fans from his hometown cheering him on the entire fight, used his speed and reach advantage to control the tempo of the fight. Lopes would lead in with the jab and unload with several fast hooks to the body of Albino. Lopes continued to land so many shots on him, that by the third and fourth round it appeared that Albino was out of gas. Lopes continued to punish Albino by pressing the action throughout the remainder of the fight, almost stopping Albino once in the third round and once in the final round en route to the easy decision. -- Scott Ploof

Camacho Jr. Decisions Gordon!

Johnston, Rhode Island’s Angel Camacho, Jr. extended his unbeaten record to 8-0, 4 KOs after four fantastic rounds at super middleweight, defeating a game “Cadillac Generous” Raheem Gordon, of Killeen, Texas.

The judges scored it 40-36 thrice, but the fight was closer than the scores.

To the crowd’s delight, the first round started in high gear, as the pugilists fought close and inside, exchanging numerous high intensity, and sometimes simultaneous jabs.

Camacho effectively counterpunched in speedy reply, and showed ring generalship.

In round two, the fighters clashed at center ring, and traded jabs at a high rate. Camacho seemed the more relaxed, and looked for openings inside, successfully landing the right jab to Gordon’s jaw. Referee Lupina broke up the reflexive grab. Camacho landed a body blow, and ducked Gordon’s reply. Camacho seemed in full control, but a cool Gordon displayed jabbing prowess. The ticket holders cheered their appreciation for great matchmaking, compliments of matchmaker, Chris Middendorf.

Gordon accelerated his aggressiveness in round three, his corner having requested more urgency. Camacho and Gordon fought in close, and a right hook to Gordon’s frame racked up points with the score keepers, as did body punches thrown when Gordon was backed into the ropes by Camacho’s locomotion. The crowd let out a loud collective exhale when Gordon landed a left hook in reply to Camacho’s right. This fight was a crowd favorite. The fighters listened to promoter Burchfield, who told all fighters at the press conference the day before, to “fight your hearts out,” and these guys obliged, and deserved the crowd’s applause and cheers for a great fight.

Round four displayed more of the same game competition. Camacho landed left jabs. The boxers traded competitively inside, both looked strong, but Camacho had the edge. The round ended when Gordon landed some great points, but not enough to get the nod, as the judges awarded the match to the much-deserving Angel Camacho, Jr., who remains undefeated at 8-0, 4 KOs.

Gordon suffered only his second defeat and heads home at 4 and 2, but hopefully will return to the Northeast soon, as this fight screams rematch! -- By Peter Mark Heintzelman

Gingras UD4 Lavender

Undefeated cruiserweight prospect Rich Gingras (4-0, 3 KOs) pounded out a four round unanimous decision over journeyman Gary Lavender (3-9, 3 KOs) in what was more a brawl than a boxing match.

Scores of the bout were 40-36 twice and 39-37.

Gingras, the 2006 Ringside World Heavyweight Champion as an amateur, landed early and often with big hooks that had Lavender reeling late in the first round. He continued his assault on Lavender after connecting with a straight right hand. Gingras followed up with a right hook, causing referee Eddie Claudio to administer a standing eight count to Lavender. He was able to recover and survive the round but not without taking a few more hooks to the body from Gingras.

There was lots of holding in the third round as both fighters appeared to be fatigued and not throwing a lot of offense. Gingras continued to brawl and land on the inside throughout the remainder of the fourth round to gain the decision. -- Scott Ploof

Aquilera Knocks Smith Out of the Ring!

Undefeated heavyweight Nagy Aquilera of Newburgh, New York, started the evening’s bouts by knocking Boston, Massachusett’s Tyrone Smith right out of the ring at 2:43 of the third round.

In the first round, Smith, a former New England Golden Gloves champ, competitively traded jabs and effectively scored against Aquilera. The fighters kept their distance and jabbed, but Aquilera was the aggressor, and won the round with more effective jabs and evasive defense.

In round two, Smith, having got the message from his corner, started out the aggressor, as he circled Aquilera. God-given height and reach advantage seemed to give Smith the edge. Aquilera showed a yen for the right jab, yet Smith remained agile. The tide quickly turned, when Aquilera pummeled Smith into the ropes, with body shots, and Referee Lupina called a break.

In round three, Aquilera hit the home run with a powerful right hook that projected Smith through the ropes and right out of the ring!

Aquilera remains undefeated at 3-0, 2 KOs, while Smith evens out at 5-5-1, with 2 KOs. --- Peter Mark Heintzelman