\tThe fact that his unbeaten pro career ended prematurely is no laughing matter, but the lessons he learned along the way and ability to carry his faith along the way are priceless victories.<\/p>\n
\tA 1996 U.S. Olympic alternate, \u201cBaby Joe\u201d \u2013 as Mesi was known in the ring \u2013 went on to a professional journey from 1997-2007 that saw him finish with an amazing 36-0 won-lost record, with 29 of those victories coming by knockout.\u00a0 The former number one heavyweight contender in the world was glistening in his sport\u2019s spotlight.<\/p>\n
\t\u201cThere were several,\u201d he says when asked about his proudest moment in boxing.\u00a0 \u201cI got to fight in Madison Square Garden.\u00a0 I got to fight in Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas.\u00a0 I got to fight in my hometown (Buffalo, New York), on HBO.\u00a0 Another was being chosen to be an Olympic torchbearer, the last one, lighting the flame right before the ball dropped on New Year\u2019s Eve, prior to the 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Olympics.\u201d<\/p>\n
\tNow 40 years old, his career was cut short by something that caused him to question his faith, which had been as solid as his punches.<\/p>\n
\t\u201cAfter my head injury in 2004 I wondered why God \u2013 when my next fight would be a title shot \u2013 would do this\u2026 it would sometimes lead me to fall off my path.\u00a0 But He had a bigger and better plan and I\u2019m living it right now.\u201d<\/p>\n
\tBack then the injury, of course, led Mesi to many neurosurgeons.\u00a0 And today?\u00a0 Baby Joe is still visiting those same specialists, but now it\u2019s in his role with St. Jude, working to sell medical devices to those doctors.<\/p>\n
\tIt might have been a surprise that Baby Joe went into a boxing career, seeing as how he was picked on as a kid.\u00a0 Nowadays that behavior has an all too common name, and Mesi, as a result, has started a foundation called Champs Against Bullying to combat it.<\/p>\n
\t\u201cAs a former athlete and former boxer I thought it\u2019d be good to voice my thoughts on this, especially since I was bullied as a kid.\u00a0 I wasn\u2019t real big and when my big brother Thomas wasn\u2019t there, I experienced it,\u201d Mesi explains.\u00a0 \u201cSo I know how people feel and felt that my story and how I overcame it would be heard.\u00a0 I even want to talk to parents about when their child is being bullied.\u00a0 We had a couple suicides in Western New York last year by kids who were being bullied.\u00a0 Now there\u2019s even online bullying.\u00a0 Kids\u2019 grades are slipping and they are emotionally damaged.\u201d<\/p>\n
\tHis good works don\u2019t end there.\u00a0 There is also the Baby Joe Mesi Fight for Organ Donors, \u201cto create awareness for the importance of organ donation and raise money and help support hospitals that do transplant procedures,\u201d he says.\u00a0 \u201cMy cousin, Genelle Shanor, had kidney failure and a couple transplants and we were real close \u2013 like a sister \u2013 and she lost her battle at the height of my popularity, which provided the opportunity to raise awareness and we\u2019ve made a lot of impact with the foundation\u2026 (Society is) so into recycling \u2013 paper, glass, etc. \u2013 but we don\u2019t do enough about re-using our organs.\u00a0 So many lives can be improved and saved.\u201d<\/p>\n
\tHis generous spirit obviously comes from his Catholic faith, the early roots of which he reflects on.\u00a0 \u201cI always had a special relationship with God.\u00a0 To this day I still have my holy box.\u00a0 When I was young I took a shoe box from my father and started filling it with, say, a rosary or a prayer card and things like that, and to this day it\u2019s in my nightstand\u2026 I think that comes from my background, my upbringing, watching my parents be good people and be good to others.\u00a0 I rarely if ever pray for myself.\u00a0 I\u2019m too blessed to pray for myself.\u201d<\/p>\n
\tThere is one exception to that rule, and it came during his boxing career.<\/p>\n
\t\u201cThe one time I would pray for myself was to be safe, for me and my opponent both, and for neither of us to get hurt.\u00a0 I\u2019m friends with my competitors and still talk to them, and in each one of my fights \u2013 85 amateur and 36 pro fights \u2013 I put a scapular in my boots and socks and would touch them before each match\u2026 when I was getting introduced, as a way to keep God with me before, during, and after the fight and in training and not wanting anyone to get hurt.\u201d<\/p>\n
\tSo then as for going in the squared circle to punch someone for possibly as many as twelve rounds?\u00a0 \u201cI often struggled with that.\u00a0 People ask me, for such a nice guy, where did you get this anger?\u00a0 But in looking at boxers, this is just a talent God gave them and they\u2019re all family men and it doesn\u2019t make us evil people.\u00a0 We\u2019d help each other up off the mat and hug each other and learn about each other.\u00a0 It\u2019s a wonderful sport.\u00a0 It\u2019s challenging to differentiate a godly man with a boxer.\u00a0 You\u2019d have to be in my shoes to understand.\u00a0 I\u2019ve at times never felt closer to God than because of boxing.\u201d<\/p>\n
\tMesi appeared headed to transition from boxing into politics, running for a New York State Senate seat in 2008, but fell just short.<\/p>\n
\t\u201cWhen I lost I was miserably depressed for months.\u00a0 I got married a couple days after the loss yet wasn\u2019t myself.\u00a0 Then God handed me this job (with St. Jude) months later and I just love it.\u00a0 Maybe He wanted me to see, this is not for you.\u00a0 He had another plan for me.\u201d<\/p>\n
\tNow more than four years since he married Michelle, there is a new \u201cBaby Joe\u201d Mesi in the form of the couple\u2019s six month old son.\u00a0 He is a little brother to Hope and Juliet.\u00a0 The three will no doubt hear first-hand the message that the former heavyweight wants the junior high and high school student-athletes of today to hear.<\/p>\n
\t\u201cKeep your faith,\u201d Mesi urges.\u00a0 \u201cSome may not want to be so public with it and that\u2019s fine too at that age, but keep a place for it.<\/p>\n
\t\u201cThe other message is, never give up.\u00a0 I think back to my boxing career.\u00a0 I wasn\u2019t the biggest, fastest, or strongest, but I worked hard and that\u2019s why I was as successful as I was.\u00a0 Don\u2019t be afraid of talent.\u00a0 I\u2019d rather go up against \u2013 in sales, boxing or anything \u2013 talent than hard work.\u00a0 Everyone I boxed was more experienced than me, stronger and faster, but I worked harder because I had to.\u00a0 Always work hard.\u00a0 You don\u2019t have to be the best, just give your best.\u00a0 If you give your absolute best you\u2019ll be surprised how far you go.\u201d<\/p>\n
\tPosted with permission from the Catholic Sports Association<\/a>, an organization dedicated to highlighting Catholic sports professionals and enriching junior high and high school student-athletes with Catholic sports articles, conferences, a Web series, and other programs.<\/em><\/p>\n