Saturday, June 11, 2005
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

KEVIN IOLE: Mesi deserves right to fight

The Nevada Athletic Commission on Thursday voted to uphold a medical suspension that has kept heavyweight Joe Mesi, left, out of the ring since a March 2004 win over Vassiliy Jirov, right. THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

I don't know how much Joe Mesi has spent trying to convince the Nevada Athletic Commission to lift his medical suspension, but the copy bill alone for the curriculum vitaes of the expert witnesses he presented had to be more than the gross-national product of several third-world countries.

Mesi, an unbeaten heavyweight contender, is convinced he can safely return to boxing despite suffering two subdural hematomas as a result of his bout with Vassiliy Jirov at Mandalay Bay on March 13, 2004.

After listening to four hours of medical testimony Thursday, I've come to believe he's right.

Because federal law mandates that states honor each other's suspensions, Mesi can't compete in the United States unless Nevada lifts his suspension. So he now faces a court fight in his quest to be allowed back in the ring.

It shouldn't be that way.

I believe Dr. Robert Cantu, the acclaimed neurosurgeon from Massachusetts who said Mesi can safely resume his career.

Extraordinarily powerful was the testimony of Dr. Stephen Olvey, director of the neurosurgical intensive care unit at the University of Miami's Jackson Memorial Hospital.

Athletes who suffered more serious subdural hematomas than Mesi, Olvey said, have returned safely to competition. Olvey cited racer Roberto Guerrero, who suffered a far more severe injury than Mesi and not only returned to racing but was in other violent crashes and did not suffer another subdural hematoma.

The basis of the commission's position Mesi is unfit to box is because he has already had one subdural hematoma, or bleed on the brain, he is at greater risk to have another.

If that is true, the commission did the right thing Thursday by voting 5-0 to uphold his medical suspension.

But none of the five members of the commission, not even Drs. Tony Alamo and Flip Homansky, gave evidence to support that position.

Mesi's experts, among the most respected in their fields in the country, say there is none. There have been no medical research studies published.

Dr. Julian Bailes, who works with the NFL Players Association to study brain injuries, said without an underlying injury to the brain itself a person who has had a subdural hematoma that has healed is no more likely to suffer another one than anyone else.

And, it's important to note, Mesi did not have an underlying injury to his brain, according to the small army of neurosurgeons and neurologists who examined him.

Even though there is no data to support its position, the commission dug its heels in and kept saying, "Yeah, but," to every piece of evidence Mesi presented.

He clearly had no chance. Most of the commissioners appeared to have their minds made up before the hearing began.

The commission gave Mesi an impossible task, saddling him with the burden to prove he's fit to fight. He assembled a neurology dream team of sorts that said just that.

No contrary evidence was cited by any of the commissioners, but they dismissed Mesi's experts and voted to ban him from boxing by repeatedly asking "What if?"

By that standard, the commission should ban all boxing -- because what if a perfectly healthy fighter gets hit in the right spot by the right punch?

What if, Mesi attorney Paul Cambria correctly observed, is not the same as what is.

"If they have evidence to the contrary to the uncontradicted testimony that was presented, we want to see it," Mesi attorney Richard Wright said. "This was a bizarre procedure, where evidence was uncontradicted and yet they voted the opposite of the evidence that was presented. It leaves me scratching my head."

And rightly so. Boxing is a violent sport in which every fighter, no matter how robust, accepts the risk of brain damage or death.

Mesi understands that. Because he cares about his health, he has a physical after every bout. He is a bright, articulate man. He isn't fighting to get back in the ring because it's his only option in life.

He would be able to compete again if he played in the NFL or NHL. If he were an auto racer, he would have been cleared to drive long ago.

Boxing should be no different.

Mesi should have been given the right to fight.

Kevin Iole's boxing column is published Saturday. He can be reached at 396-4428 or kiole@reviewjournal.com.