Joe Mesi American boxer Date of Birth: 27.11.1973 Country: USA

Biography of Joe Mesi

Joe Mesi, also known as "Baby" Joe Mesi, was born on November 27, 1973, in Buffalo, New York, USA. He was born into a family of Italian immigrants, where boxing was a traditional pursuit for the men. However, Joe himself got into the sport relatively late, at the age of 20.

After a year of amateur boxing, where he only won one significant tournament, Joe decided to retire from the sport to focus on his college education. His childhood dream was to become a teacher for elementary school children. However, a year later, he came across a newspaper article about the selection of boxers for the US Olympic team in Atlanta in 1996, which was only 15 months away. Joe suddenly became passionate about competing in the Olympics and decided to return to boxing. To pursue this goal, he left college against his mother's wishes and began training rigorously under the guidance of Juan De Leon, the brother and trainer of Carlos De Leon, a multiple-time world champion in the cruiserweight division.

Joe's older brother, Tom, who had already retired from boxing by that time, also played a significant role in his preparation for the Olympic qualifiers. In 1995 and 1996, Joe Mesi became the winner of the New York tournament "Golden Gloves." However, he failed to secure a spot in the Olympic team when he lost to Lawrence Clay-Bey in the qualifying competitions. He ended up being selected as a reserve and did not get the opportunity to compete in the Olympic tournament. In the same year, 1996, Joe Mesi concluded his amateur career with a record of 72 wins and 8 losses and transitioned to the professional ranks.

During a family meeting, it was decided that Joe would not try to sign a contract with any of the powerful promoters but would instead try to make his way to the top of professional boxing independently, with the help of his own team composed of family members and friends. Joe Mesi had his first professional fight in New York, knocking out Duane Keason in the second round. His career progressed slowly, as most of his opponents were clearly outmatched by him. However, this did not stop "Baby Joe" from becoming a local superstar in his hometown of Buffalo and gaining a considerable level of recognition beyond its borders.

Last year, Joe Mesi made a small breakthrough by securing impressive victories over strong boxers such as Robert Davis and Davarryl Williamson, allowing him to earn a respectable position in the rankings of leading boxing organizations. However, his next two fights against Monte Barrett and Vassiliy Jirov, although resulting in victories for Mesi with minimal advantages, raised doubts among skeptics and demonstrated that the most serious challenges for Joe Mesi were still ahead.