Waiting in the wings
CHESTER, W.Va. — Call it mutual respect — and the stepladder effect.
Brian Minto (28-2, 17 KOs) and Joe Mesi (35-0, 28 KOs) believe each can climb over the other to reach pro boxing's promised land.
That's why they're prepared to meet in the ring in a pay-per-view fight at The Harv sometime in early November.
"The deal is pretty much set,"Mesi said. "All we need is the date. I think they (Mountaineer Race Track and Gaming Resort) are trying to time it with the arrival of their table games."
"How can they not want that fight here after what they saw tonight?"Minto said. "We both want this fight and we both believe we can win it."
Minto stopped Ray Lunsford via the three-knockdown rule less than two minutes into their scheduled eight-round bout Thursday night in Mountaineer's Grande Ballroom.
Mesi described Minto as "the most improved heavyweight in the division over the past year."
Minto was named the most exciting heavyweight fighter in the world in 2006 by Ring Magazine.
But Mesi also said he will prove to be too much for the Butler boxer to handle.
"Brian is very good, but I have more experience, I'm stronger and I've faced better competition,"he said. "That's the difference between us."
Minto smiled broadly in the locker area Thursday when those words were relayed to him.
"Well then, we'll see," he said. "We'll fight and we'll see. We'll see who the better man is in the ring."
Mesi was among the top five contenders for a world title shot when he scored a unanimous decision over Vassiliy Jirov (33-1) on March 13, 2004. A head injury he suffered in that bout resulted in a broken blood vessel in his brain and Mesi was sidelined for two years.
Before defeating Jirov, Mesi had won by decision over Monte Barrett (29-2) and scored first-round knockouts over Robert Davis (28-5) and DaVarryl Williamson (18-1) in rapidly climbing toward title contention.
"I'm back and I'm ready,"Mesi said. "The winner of this fight will be ranked among the top 10 or top five heavyweights in the world and only be another win or two away from a title shot."
Minto entered Thursday's fight ranked No. 15 by the World Boxing Organization.
Since returning to the ring in April 2006, Mesi has fought six times, winning three of those by decision, two by TKOand one by knockout. He has not faced any highly ranked fighters since coming back.
Mesi's last fight was a first-round knockout of Ron Johnson (21-20) in April.
"I've been more active than him and I've never stopped training,"Minto said. "I'm on a different tier right now. He's going to find that out."
