“Fighting Words” – Boxing’s True Mecca: A Religious Experience

2.  Joe Mesi needed less than a round to stop George Linberger on Versus’ Fight Night, earning Mesi his fifth victory since he returned in April from two subdural hematomas and a forced two-year layoff. Mesi looks like he’s worked himself back into shape, though it must be said that Linberger’s last fight was 14 months ago, a four-round split decision over Eric “Butterbean” Esch. Nevertheless, Mesi’s post-fight interview was half-triumphant, half-defiant:

“I’m back,” he said. “It took me four fights to get back … I got my four tune-up fights, I didn’t look that great in them. How am I supposed to look good? There’s two-and-a-half years off I had.

“You’ve never seen the best of Joe Mesi yet. I think now in my second chance, in my second career, you’re going to see the best … I’m a young 33. I started boxing late. You haven’t even seen me beat yet.

“By summer, I want to be fighting in western New York … because I generate money for me and my opponents, I generate fans, I generate exciting fights … we’re going to fight back in New York and have the 20 to 25,000 people again ‘cause no one else can do that in the heavyweight division.”

3.  On the same West Virginia card, former heavyweight titlist Tommy Morrison fought for the first time in over a decade. Like Mesi, Morrison was forced to the sideline by medical issues. And like Mesi, Morrison is waging an uphill battle for acceptance.

Morrison’s involuntary banishment began in 1996 when he tested positive for HIV. After traveling to Japan and knocking out designated opponent Marcus Rhode, Morrison retired.

Morrison returned Thursday, having convinced the West Virginia Athletic Commission that he either no longer has HIV, or that the nineties test yielded a false positive. Morrison also won in the ring, stopping an inexperienced John Castle in the second round.

For all intents and purposes, Morrison is treading on thin ice. Boxing is a blood sport. Joe Mesi only puts himself in danger by continuing to fight. Without reliable evidence, one tends to assume that Tommy Morrison and the promoters and athletic commissions that enable him are willing to put others in danger, too.

4.  In the shadows of Mesi and Morrison, two things must not be overlooked from Thursday’s Fight Night broadcast.

The reporting done by ringside color commentator Wally Matthews was dead-on. Whereas some would have focused mostly on the in-ring action, Matthews remained a boxing journalist, working controversial stories and asking difficult questions.

And lest we forget, there was the main event bout between Humberto Soto and Humberto Toledo, which Soto won via third-round stoppage. Soto looks like a force to be reckoned with at 130 – and with the sheer amount of quality match-ups at junior lightweight, Soto is one more reason to hope for the impossible truce between Top Rank and Golden Boy Promotions.

5.  Boxers Behaving Badly, part one: Former lightweight and junior middleweight titlist Vinny Pazienza was arrested Feb. 23 and charged with drunken driving after police in Warwick, R.I., found him at a gas station, passed out behind the wheel of his Jeep with his engine running, according to The Providence Journal. Pazienza allegedly failed a field sobriety test and refused to take a Breathalyzer test, authorities said.

In 2005, Pazienza lost his driver’s license for up to a year for a December 2004 incident in which he refused to take a Breathalyzer test after police stopped him for driving erratically.

Pazienza is scheduled to appear before the Rhode Island Traffic Tribunal on March 21.

6.  Boxers Behaving Badly, part two: Former middleweight and super middleweight titlist Chris Eubank was arrested last week in London for disturbing the peace during a unique antiwar demonstration, according to BBC News. Eubank – who had been protesting Prince Harry’s impending deployment to Iraq with British troops – was driving a large truck on which a banner read, “Blair, don’t send our young prince to your catastrophic illegal war to make it look plausible.”

Eubank is scheduled for a March 29 hearing.

7.  The legal saga involving HBO play-by-play announcer Jim Lampley ended last week with Lampley receiving three years of probation after he plead no contest to a misdemeanor charge of violating a restraining order, according to the Associated Press.

Lampley, who was initially accused of felony domestic violence, was also ordered to stay away from ex-girlfriend Candice Sanders, enroll in a 52-week domestic violence recovery program, perform 40 hours of volunteer work and pay a fine of approximately $700.

“The thing that I am most guilty of is choosing [the] wrong woman,” Lampley said in a released statement.

On a related note, Thomas Hauser penned a fantastic article last week that expanded on the circumstances surrounding Lampley’s arrest and put the entire situation in perspective. Excellent work.

8.  The World Boxing Association officially stripped Mariano Carrera of his middleweight belt last week and reinstated Javier Castillejo as its titlist.

Carrera, who had defeated Castillejo in December via technical knockout, tested positive for the banned substance Clenbuterol in his post-fight drug test. His second sample also tested positive, forcing the WBA to disqualify Carrera and name Castillejo the winner.

Castillejo is scheduled to defend his title in an April rematch against Felix Sturm.

9.  Goodbye, Johnny Tapia. May this retirement truly be your final one – and may you live comfortably off of royalties from your autobiography.

10.  Laila Ali will compete on the fourth season of ABC television show Dancing with the Stars, joining fellow semi-celebrities Billy Ray Cyrus, Clyde Drexler, Joey Fatone, Shandi Finnessey, Leeza Gibbons, Heather Mills, Apolo Anton Ohno, Vincent Pastore, Paulina Porizkova and Ian Ziering.

Ali isn’t the first boxer to appear on the program – the first season saw a brief stint from Evander Holyfield. Alongside dance partner Maksim Chmerkovskiy, Ali needs only last four episodes to better the fumbling footwork of “The Real Deal.”

Dancing with the Stars premieres on March 19.

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