It’s hard not to have flashbacks to 20-plus years ago when the name Joe Mesi is announced at boxing events in the Niagara Falls area. No, the former heavyweight contender isn’t still active as a boxer after the age of 50. Instead there is another fighter of the same name who is making his way in the sport of boxing.

Many mistake the 30-year-old boxing upstart from Orchard Park, New York, for the son of the popular contender from the 2000s, while the ring announcer at Mesi’s second pro fight this past Friday mistakenly referred to this Joe Mesi as the nephew of “Baby Joe.” The two are actually cousins; their grandfathers were first cousins who came over together from Sicily and settled in the upstate New York region.

The younger Mesi, whose friends call him “Joey Ming,” which is a nod to his Italian-American heritage, employs a free-swinging, power-punching style that is somewhat reminiscent to that of “Baby Joe,” though he hasn’t yet had to show the ring movement that made his cousin more of a boxer-puncher than he is given credit for. That style was on display this past Friday, as the younger Mesi improved to 2-0 (1 KO) to start his career, battering Terrance Brown to a first-round stoppage at Seneca Niagara Casino on the New York side of Niagara Falls. 

His fights have been a celebration of the local Buffalo fandom, many of whom had attended his cousin’s fights two decades ago, when “Baby Joe” looked poised to become a major player in the post-Lennox Lewis heavyweight picture. Those dreams were dashed when, following numerous rabbit punches in the late rounds of his 2004 unanimous decision win against Vasiliy Jirov, “Baby Joe” was sidelined due to a subdural hematoma. The elder Mesi fought on in lesser bouts between 2006 and 2007, but retired with a 36-0 record, never to get his shot at a world title.

“Joey Ming” remembers the hysteria around his cousin’s brief rise to the top, including taking a limousine with his father at the age of eight to the HSBC Arena to witness the star-making first-round knockout of DaVarryl Williamson on an episode of HBO Boxing’s “Night of the Young Heavyweights.” He remembers his cousin walking down from the 200s sections of the arena while wearing a Buffalo Sabres jersey, and then having Michael Buffer announce his name before the packed crowd. He was called “Buffalo’s Third Franchise” for a reason, and for the younger Mesi, it was like being related to a rock star.

“That was just wild to me. I was so young at an age where I didn’t know exactly how big he was. When I started going to middle school and high school people started going, ‘Oh your cousin is Baby Joe.’ The teacher would read off my name for school attendance and I would go ‘Holy shit, this guy is loved by people here,’” remembers Joe Mesi.

While it’s easy to assume that this Joe Mesi is stepping into the ring to try to duplicate the success of the previous Joe Mesi, the reality is far more complicated than that. This Mesi isn’t trying to finish business that went uncompleted two decades earlier. He’s on a journey of self-discovery through the sport that he credits with saving his life.

 

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Mesi isn’t surprised that his 20s were marked by a battle against depression. He’d seen it rear its head throughout his family, so he had to have known it’d come for him eventually. For him, it came after a heartbreaking split from his first love: baseball.

Mesi was a standout player at Orchard Park High School, excelling as a third baseman. Known primarily for his fielding ability, Mesi did well enough in high school to get some looks from big schools but didn’t have the grades to qualify. After finishing high school in 2012, he stayed close to home for his first season of collegiate baseball, enrolling in nearby Monroe Community College for his freshman year, then over to North Country Community College for his sophomore year. There at NCCC, Mesi found his bat, hitting .315 with a homer and 10 RBIs in 23 games at first base, leading the Thunderwolves to a 31-15 record in the 2013-14 season. 

Joe Mesi and

His performance earned him a scholarship to Brevard College, an NCAA Division II school based in North Carolina. There he split his time between first base, the outfield and designated hitter in his junior year.

Heading into his senior year, Mesi had his eyes on improving his chances at getting drafted by a Major League Baseball organization, just like Jonah Heim, his old travel team roommate and co-captain who would eventually win a World Series ring as catcher for the Texas Rangers in 2023.

Mesi performed exceptionally well at his Pro-Day, the showcase where MLB scouts observe potential prospects, running a 6.7 in the 60-yard dash, then did well in batting practice and showing off his throwing ability across the outfield and infield, before wrapping up with interviews afterwards.

Then, three days before his senior season started, the beginning of the end came when he slid into second base during an inter-squad game. He heard a pop; it was his Hook of Hamate bone in his wrist.

“It was like a world dropped in front of me,” remembers Mesi. “I grew up in a home where it was like the old school Italian mindset of, if you’re hurting it’s fine, you gotta work through it. Even if you break something, it’s alright, keep moving forward. I tried to play through it, but then I ended up tearing a tendon in my wrist and I didn’t get to play my whole senior year.”

Mesi could only watch from the dugout as the Brevard Tornadoes struggled to a 15-34 record. With his pro prospects all but dashed, Mesi had one last chance to end his college baseball career on his own terms on Senior Day, the final home game of the season. With his bad wrist and all, his coach had promised him initially that he would start the game, but then adjusted it to allowing him one last at-bat before taking him out of the game. But with the game being closer than expected, the coach swept past those promises and never called Mesi to the on-deck circle.

“I love the coach to pieces, but it was just one of those games that was a close game, I never got my at-bat, and after that I mentally checked out. I dropped baseball right then and there,” said Mesi, who ended up moving back home and taking 23 credit hours his final semester just to be done with college.

“I had good talent, but the way I ended it was not the way I wanted to end it. I took it personally. I never got that at-bat, and it melted me. I just dropped baseball right there and I came back home and fell into a depression.”

Mesi ended up getting his degree in criminal justice, but he lacked direction once he returned home. He worked for a time at Erie Community College as a grounds and maintenance manager, then found work at a temp agency, doing carpeting, roofing and construction work.

“I hated it,” said Mesi, who now works full-time as a private investigator on worker’s compensation claims. “One week you’re here and the next week you’re there. So you’re just like another person that they’re tossing around wherever you fit. It’s not like you’re making all the money because the temp agency is making some money off of you.”

Mesi, who stands 6ft 2ins, has always been on the bigger end, weighing around 260lbs throughout his playing career. But as he sunk further into depression, his weight continued to creep up. He topped out around 345lbs during the COVID pandemic, and, in his despair, began to lose hope.

“I had some family problems going on, I had four family members die in one year. Not to take the easy way out, but it was easy to think to myself, you’re real down and out, you could end it and it’d be all over,” said Mesi.

That’s when his older brother Justin intervened. Justin, who had experienced his own ordeal with mental health issues, suggested boxing as a way to get back in shape and take control of his life. The gyms were still closed due to the pandemic, so Justin ordered a pair of punch mitts and a body protector and had Joe practice on him.

“My brother was a big football player so he always wanted to make sure I didn’t go down the path he went down. He was the one who really took me out of my depression. He hasn’t had the best life in that sense but he always kept me marching forward,” said Mesi.

When the gyms finally reopened, Mesi strolled into the Buffalo Boxing Club, and after two weeks, began sparring under the supervision of Hector Alejandro Jnr, one of “Baby Joe’s” old trainers, and did better than expected against a more experienced boxer. His acid test would come against Adonis Alcime, a national champion from Buffalo in the 189lbs division, and Mesi was able to hold his own. Mesi was encouraged, and trained for an entire year before someone suggested that he get in the ring himself.

Mesi signed up for the Buffalo Golden Gloves in 2022 and scored a first-round stoppage of his semifinal opponent before losing a split decision in the finals.

Before his first amateur fight, he received a phone call from his cousin of the same name. The two hadn’t spoken much in recent years, but a second Joe Mesi stepping into the game warranted a call from “Baby Joe.”

“Before my first amateur fight he actually gave me a call, he was just telling me about the butterflies. It’s good to hear from someone in the family who knows boxing. After I won that first fight he ended up calling me again,” said Mesi.

“He hasn’t seen me fight live but I’m hoping one of these days he can watch me fight. He’s been very supportive.”

Mesi would have two more fights the following year, winning both by first-round stoppage before considering what his next step would be.

“A lot of people were saying that you have more of a pro style, and I decided to make the leap to the pros,” said Mesi. 

That leap came in October of 2024, when Mesi stepped into the ring with Michael Shaw. Now slimmed down to 242¼lbs, Mesi went four rounds, winning a unanimous decision. He scored a knockdown but didn’t finish his Atlanta-based opponent, which he attributes to trying too hard to get the knockout.

Armed with that experience, Mesi marched into Seneca Casino for his second pro fight on April 18 and got the job done, ripping his opponent with uppercuts and hooks to force the referee to halt the bout in 80 seconds.

“To get my first knockout in front of my hometown is a dream come true. It’s everything I prayed for and more. It’s still very surreal. To have people screaming your name and support you are words that are indescribable. We trained so hard for the fight, my coaches, my team deserve as much kudos as anyone with how much time and effort they put behind the bright lights. It was a dream come true and I’m so ready to do it many, many more times,” said Mesi.

Mesi knows he’ll be back in the ring at that venue again in October, on another card promoted by All Star Boxing, but hopes to get in another fight date before then.

Then what? Boxing is as unpredictable and dangerous as any profession, as “Baby Joe” himself can attest. The odds are against this Joe Mesi reaching the top of the sport, as he hadn’t even had his first amateur fight until he was 27. But in many ways, he’s already gotten ahead in life, with boxing helping restore his self image and the direction he lost when his baseball dreams had struck out.

Now he shares his love of boxing with personal training clients at Ming Boxing, a section of a gym on Seneca Street in Buffalo, which he rents out from his strength and conditioning coach, Mikey Cabarga. He runs classes there on Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 6 p.m., and is looking to add morning classes as well. He says his dream is to one day just teach boxing for a living. And, hey, if a world title opportunity were to open up some day, why wouldn’t he sign that contract?

Depression is a battle he fights daily, but with boxing, he at least stands a fighting chance. That battle is symbolized by a tattoo he got on his left hand after his most recent fight: a semicolon, a symbol for mental health and suicide prevention awareness, with a boxing glove in the place of the lower comma.

“There’s levels to the game,” Mesi concedes. “I’m gonna be boxing until I’m about 37-38 years old, so I got another eight, nine years in me. Wherever it takes me, it takes me. I don’t think I’m gonna become a world champion, but I know that boxing saved my life and I’m willing to see how far this can take me. And if, miraculously, one day I’m fighting for a big fight, that would be great,” said Mesi.

“If not, then I’m completely grateful that I’m still here. I’m happy to still be here and I’m happy that I’m still six feet above ground.”

Ryan Songalia is a reporter and editor for jeetwin68.com and has written for ESPN, the New York Daily News, Rappler, The Guardian, Vice and The Ring magazine. He holds a Master’s degree in Journalism from the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism and is a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America. He can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter at .