Nice. A proposed bout where Tommy gets his hand raised. Not too many of those. I think the pressure of a big bout & Mesi not fighting in front of his home crowd subtract enough from his game to tip the scales to Morrison. That, and I do not think Mesi has the defense to avoid the left hooks Morrison threw.
I liked Joe Mesi, but nearly seeing him get ko'd by Jirov, I can't see him taking Morrison's power. It should be a good fight though, I can see Joe dropping Tommy, Tommy weathering the storm and stopping Mesi 2-3 rounds later in an action fight.
Don't quote me on this but to be fair, didn't Joe Mesi have brain injury vs Jirov ? As I remember it Mesi dominated the fight, then got hit by an illegal blow on the back of the head in the 9th round, which seemed to trigger something bad happen to Mesi's brain. Maybe someone could help me out here, and tell me the extent of Mesi's brain Injury.
He has a brain bleed that he recovered from (subdural hematoma). Monte Barrett practically did the same thing to him though (minus TBI), so I don’t view the Jirov fight as a fluke.
He had the subdural hematoma and couldn't get licensed in new york, new jersey, nevada, or california, he had a few more fights I think in West Virginia then retired. I think he's involved in politics in the Buffalo, Ny area.
I think "Baby Face" wins in the first round, as he did against Williamson and like the "Duke" received vs. Bendt and Mercer. Mesi had the better chin out of this two, his problem was the stamina. Power and speed might have been equal, but Morrison was bigger