Heavyweight boxer Joe Mesi, right, shakes hands with Marc Ratner, executive director of the Nevada Athletic Commission, in District Court in Las Vegas on Dec. 19. Judge Douglas Herndon overturned the commission's medical suspension of Mesi, clearing the way for his return to the ring after two years off. Photo by The Associated Press.

Unbeaten heavyweight contender Joe Mesi and family members were sick with the flu over the holidays, but his father, Jack, said it was a long time since the family had a happier one.

Joe Mesi won his right to return to the ring in a Dec. 19 ruling in Las Vegas by District Judge Douglas Herndon, who determined that the Nevada Athletic Commission could not suspend Mesi beyond the length of his boxing license.

Mesi was suspended in the aftermath of his March 13, 2004, fight against Vassiliy Jirov at Mandalay Bay when it was learned that Mesi had suffered two subdural hematomas, or bleeds on the covering of the brain.

Last year Mesi lost two bids to have the suspension lifted, one when the commission's Medical Advisory Board voted against reinstatement and another when the full commission heard the matter and voted 5-0 against him.

But Mesi sued and won the right to fight again when Herndon's ruling effectively lifted the suspension. By federal law, all states must honor a fighter's suspension by another state, so Mesi was unable to fight anywhere in the United States until it was lifted.

"Believe me, sick or not, we enjoyed this Christmas and New Year's," said Jack Mesi, also his son's manager.

Joe Mesi was the No. 1 contender in the WBC and was ranked in the top five by all major sanctioning organizations when he was suspended, but Jack Mesi doesn't intend to rush his son back into the ring. He plans for Joe's next fight to be in March against a "tune-up type of opponent," he said.

"We've been away for two years, so I don't think anyone can begrudge us that," Jack Mesi said. "And then we'll have to see what happens. I can't say, 'Oh, this is definitely our plan,' because he's been away a long time and we have to see how his body reacts."

Joe Mesi still must apply for and receive a license, but Jack Mesi said it won't be a problem. He said he has received calls from numerous state boxing commissions and foreign countries that have promised to license his son.

Joe Mesi plans to go to Houston on Feb. 13 to begin training with Juan De Leon and DeLeon's brothers, former cruiserweight champion Carlos DeLeon and Angel DeLeon.

But Jack Mesi, a hands-on manager, said he doesn't expect great results overnight.

"It will take Joe a year to recover, timing wise and strength wise," Jack Mesi said. "Joe's very athletic and he works like a dog, so we'll see. He's a real clean liver and he has no physical problems. His weight is an issue. I'm guessing he's 260 (pounds), maybe 270 at the top end now.

"But Joe's real smart on nutrition and he knows how to get the weight off safely and get into shape"

• THE PROMOTER -- Tony Holden served as Mesi's promoter when Mesi fought Jirov, but has opted not to promote Mesi any longer, though the two remain close.

Jack Mesi said he has received phone calls from several promoters, but Top Rank's Bob Arum hasn't been among them. But that doesn't mean Arum, who promotes WBC heavyweight champion Hasim Rahman, isn't interested.

"If they call me, I'd be happy to talk to them," Arum said. "Obviously Joe Mesi's a very attractive guy. I'd be happy to put him in with Rahman (should Rahman get past James Toney on March 18). That would be a huge event.

"I haven't spoken to anyone about them, but if they were interested in me, I think they know how to get me."

• WINK'S UP -- Undisputed middleweight champion Jermain Taylor is inching closer to a fight with top contender Winky Wright.

Taylor promoter Lou DiBella has submitted an offer to Wright promoter Gary Shaw for a bout in April or May, eschewing his original idea of an interim fight first.

• DON'T FORGET ME -- Unbeaten Kelly Pavlik, who will fight Jose Luis Zertuche on the undercard of the Erik Morales-Manny Pacquiao rematch Jan. 21 at the Thomas & Mack Center, threw his hat into the Taylor ring.

Arum said Pavlik had hired respected local trainer Kenny Adams, the former U.S. Olympic coach, in order to speed his development, but Pavlik said he decided to wait on that.

The hard-punching Pavlik, 27-0 with 24 knockouts, has fought few quality opponents and no top-10 contenders.

However, he said he fought many of the same fighters as Taylor and that he believes Taylor can be beaten.

"Everyone talks about Jermain's jab, but he flicks it and it's overexaggerated and looks harder than it is," Pavlik said. "He doesn't like to get hit. I know (Bernard) Hopkins is not a big, big power puncher and is a guy who wears you down, but he went straight in and he hurt Jermain.

"With my style and how hard I punch, that would be a problem for him."

Pavlik said he was unable to find quality sparring before his Oct. 7 knockout win over Fulgencio Zuniga and estimated he had sparred no more than 13 rounds.

But he said he has already logged upwards of 50 rounds of sparring for Zertuche and promises a good showing.

"I think I should be fighting for a world title now, because it's been six years and I've learned a lot," Pavlik, 23, said. "But one of the things I've learned is that the only way to get people to notice you is to go out and keep winning."

• A LITTLE CHANGE -- Trainer Freddie Roach said he has worked with Pacquiao on not overusing his powerful left hand and being more patient.

Morales won a unanimous decision over Pacquiao in their first fight in one of the most exciting bouts of the year. Pacquiao was willing to brawl with the bigger Morales, and they spent much of the fight standing toe-to-toe trading hard shots.

Roach said he's not trying to change Pacquiao into a slick boxer, but take better advantage of Pacquiao's strengths.

"I think (Morales) fought a great fight," Roach said. "He fought one of the best ones I have seen him fight. He used his jab very effectively and so forth. We didn't expect him to do as well as he did.

"He backed Manny up and put Manny on the ropes, where he didn't need to be. So he fought a good fight, but not exactly what we expected. But we expect it this time."

• TIDBITS -- Kenny Bayless will referee the Morales-Pacquiao fight. The judges will be Jerry Roth, Dave Moretti and Paul Smith. ... Sig Rogich, chairman of the Nevada Athletic Commission's Advisory Committee on Boxer Health and Safety, said he expects the committee to meet publicly this month. It didn't meet in December, he said, because of the holidays. ... The Rahman-Toney heavyweight title fight will be in Atlantic City and will be aired by HBO, not pay-per-view, Arum said.