"Baby" Joe Mesi vs Tommy "The Duke" Morrison - who would have won?

It'd be a miracle if Mesi made it out the 1st. Morrison woulda blitzed Mesi within 90 seconds.

 

I would probably go with mesi. I have never been all that impressed with Morrison as i dont think he had a world class chin, and i thought (was hoping) that the unproven Mesi might be a bit better than people thought. I will go with an upset.

 

Wow. I'm shocked. Joe Mesi was abolute TRASH! He was a certified bum!

Morrison had one of THE most devestating hooks in heavyweight history, and he had extremely fast hands.

 

Morrison was just a better fighter. Period. Barring a fluke Benttlike knockout, he wins. Probably by a knockout but if not, then he outclasses Mesi. Morrison's chin issues I feel are overblown. I wouldn't say he had a glass jaw...just an unreliable one. Not china and not world class. Dig it?

 

It's been a while since I've seen a TM fight but I don't really remember hand speed to an extremity and I certainly wouldn't call Mesi a bum. Hyped, sure. Definitely. But that's what they do. Not a bum at all, in my opinion.

 

I think Morrison was about a fringe top 10 fighter at best. I think he is totally overated.

I think that Mesi was about the same.

You guys are probably right, it probably wouldnt have been long before Mesi was exposed, and became a Dominic Guinn Level fighter (i mean after all, these two were the two top young prospects at one stage). But, Mesi obviously had some power, and i liked the heart he showed in gritting through some of his wins. Maybe i am using my heart more than my head but i still take Mesi, presumably at decent odds.

Incidentally, these guys were still active in the last couple of years. Maybe we might get to see the two square off. Unlikely (and pointless) but who knows.

 

You need to go back and check out some early Tommy fights. He was fast as hell for a heavyweight! Not as fast as Tyson of course, but fast hands none the less.

Mesi was crap. Nothin but a HBO creation. The Morrison that beat up Ray Mercer for the first 4 rounds would have sent Mesi to the ER within a round or 2.

 

Your overating Morrison to think he would beat Mesi in one round. Mesi would probably lose, but he wouldnt be blasted out. Morrison was knocked out himself in one round by Mike Bentt who had like 11 or 12 fights.

 

Morrison was more than a fringe contender. He would probably be champion today. Mesi wasnt as bad as Xplosive is making him out to be, but Morrison was a better fighter.

 

I think it's absurd to label Mesi a "hyped bum" "HBO creation" when comparing him to Tommy Morrison.

C'mon, both these guys were hyped to the same extent because they represented a certain ethnic group in the USA. But both of them could probably hit pretty good too. Mesi was a decent hitter.

I think Mesi's KO of DeVaryl Williamson was impressive, and a few fights later Williamson gave Wlad Klitschko a decent contest, and later did okay against Chris Byrd.

Mesi struggled with Monte Barrett and Vasily Jirov, but Morrison struggled with Joe Hipp, Yuri Vaulin, an over-the-hill Carl Williams, Ross Purrity, and was crushed by Michael Bentt.

Morrison was built on has-beens and second-raters. His best win by far is hit-and-run, run, run against a 44 year old Foreman. Or a win over a washed-up Ruddock.

I'm not sure anything on Morrison's record puts him in a better class than Joe Mesi.

 

I pick Morrison by KO as well but I think Mesi gives him some real problems.

Say what you will about Mesi but he never lost. 36-0 (29) overall and 3-0 in minor title fights. His toughest fights were Monte Barrett (WMD10) and Vassiliy Jirov (W10). The Barrett fight could have went either way and Jirov almost stopped Mesi toward the end of the last round.

Mesi surprised many when he stopped DaVarryl Williamson in the 1st round.

He looked good bombing out lower level and past prime guys like Jorge L. Gonzalez KO4, Bert Cooper KO7, Keith McKnight KO6, David Izon KO9, and Robert Davis KO1 among others.

6'1" with a 79" and about 230-235Lbs.


Morrison went 48-3-1 (42) overall and 3-3 (2) in WBO and IBC world title fights. He is 6'2" with a 76" reach and about 225-230Lbs.

He was beat badly by Mercer (LKO5), Bentt (LTKO1), and Lewis (LKO6). He drew with Puritty (knocked down twice in the fight).

He beat past prime versions of Tillis (KO1) and Thomas (KO1). He showed his limitations in his wins over Vaulin (KO5), Hipp (KO9... Morrison suffered a broke jaw and hand but went on to win), A past prime "Truth" Williams (KO8, Morrison almost stopped in the 5th), and a past prime Ruddock (KO6, both fighters down... for IBC title).

He beat a poorly prepared Foreman without getting dropped and picked up the WBO belt. He had to run, run, run to do it.

With that said... the power, speed, and explosiveness advantages go to Morrison. I'll take Tommy by late round stoppage but Mesi gets his licks in. I see them both hitting the deck at least once.

 

Agreed.

I think Morrison was a better fighter and would have beaten him had they met.

 

Morrison..as soon as the left hook landed. Count to 10..Mesi's out in round 1 or 2.

 

The Duke by KO, inside 8 rounds. I'll give Baby Joe a bit of credit for his heart and boxing skills, but prime Morrison was a pretty good fighter that would beat him IMO.