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CES
signs unbeaten heavyweight
“Baby” Joe Mesi
PROVIDENCE (September 15, 2007) – Classic Entertainment & Sports, Inc. (CES)
has signed former world No. 1 heavyweight contender “Baby” Joe Mesi
(35-0, 28 KOs) to an exclusive, multi-year promotional contract, CES
president Jimmy Burchfield officially announced today.
The 33-year-old Mesi, the pride of Buffalo, will fight Shannon “Trouble”
Miller (15-3, 9 KOs) on October 12 in the 10-round main event for the
vacant WBC USNBC heavyweight title at Twin River Events Center in
Lincoln, Rhode Island.
“I’ve been interested in signing Joe Mesi since he scored a devastating
knockout on one of my undercards in 2000 at Rhodes-on-the-Pawtuxet in
Cranston (RI),” a delighted Burchfield explained his longtime
relationship with Team Mesi – Joe, his father/manager Jack and agent Bob
Spagnola. “Joe Mesi is what boxing needs today. He’s already a great
commentator and he’s going to be a great promoter, but boxing is what
Joe Mesi does and what he wants to continue doing. Joe feels that his
life is incomplete until he captures the heavyweight championship of the
world.
“My main concern with all of our fighters is their safety and well
being. He has been examined by the top neurosurgeons in the world. I
asked them for reports and a new MRI. Joe has been approved for
licensing by the state of Rhode Island. Jack loves his son and he has
taken every precaution. We will provide Dr. Robert Cantu’s (Chief
Neurosurgeon Emerson Hospital in Boston) evaluation report to any
interested officials or people in the media. Dr. Cantu’s report states
that Joe has no more of a chance of suffering a brain injury than he did
before the (Vassiliy) Jirov fight or any other fighter does entering the
ring.
“My credibility is on the line and I am 100-percent satisfied. Joe is
what corporate America can relate to – a gentleman, articulate, handsome
and he can box and punch. He has all of the right tools. Joe’s the third
sports franchise back home in Buffalo. Everyone associated with CES is
very happy that Joe has joined Team CES.”
CES has always featured popular Italian-American fighters starting with
5-time world champion Vinny Paz and continuing with Gary “Tiger”
Balletto and Peter Manfredo, Jr. Mesi’s boxing idol is the late, great
Rocky Marciano, who was unbeaten in 28 Rhode Island fights with 25
knockouts (1948-52 at the old Rhode Island Auditorium).
“We felt that at this point of my career,” Joe said, “it was in our best
interest to get with a promoter. After talking with a lot of promoters,
we decided that CES and Jimmy Burchfield was our best bet. He is very
well respected, liked and trusted, which are uncommon in boxing. There’s
something special about him in the community and he has no enemies.
Everybody’s happy. We’ve signed with CES and Jimmy so he can assist us
in getting back into the top 10 and eventually into a world championship
fight. There are a lot of reasons why we fit, one being the large
Italian-American communities in Providence and nearby Brockton
(Marciano’s hometown) and Boston. There are a lot of great opportunities
for us with CES throughout New England and the entire Northeast.”
Back in 2003 before his fight against Monte Barrett, New York City’s
Italian-American community welcomed Joe with open arms and at one
reception, Rocky Marciano’s brother, Peter, publically backed Joe,
saying in all the years that had passed, Joe was the first to have the
Marciano family’s blessing in terms of breaking Rocky’s 49-0 record.
Although flattered by the support of his idol’s family, Joe quickly
noted that Rocky’s record would last forever because boxing was a
different sport today and that Rocky had done it the right way.
“It meant so much to us that the Marciano’s gave Joe their blessings and
we hope they come to Joe’s fight October 12 in Rhode Island,” Joe’s
father/manager Jack Mesi added. “We felt that we had brought Joe as far
as we could in his comeback, 6-0, and we needed a highly respected
promoter to take us to the next level – the world championship -- and
Jimmy Burchfield is that promoter. He is a dynamo, an uncommon person in
this sport. All of the so-called big name promoters have called me to
make deals but we signed with CES and Jimmy Burchfield because he can
get us to the world championship and all of us are very comfortable
working with him.”
CES’ growing stable includes WBC No. 2 rated cruiserweight contender
Matt “Too Smooth” Godfrey (16-0, 9 KOs), star of The Contender I and
world super middleweight title challenger Peter “The Pride of
Providence” Manfredo, Jr., nine-time U.S. amateur champion Aaron
Williams (14-0-1, 10 KOs), USNBC and IBF Intercontinental super
middleweight title-holder Joey “KO Kid” Spina (19-1-1, 14 KOs), 2004
U.S. Olympian and heavyweight prospect Jason “Big Six” Estrada (9-1,
1KO), WBC Youth super featherweight champion Matt “Sharp Shooter”
Remillard (11-0, 7 KOs), and four-time world champion and reigning
2-divisional IWBF title-belt holder Jaime “The Hurricane” Clampitt
(18-4-1, 7 KOs). |
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