by David P. Greisman

Snow wafts downwards, pristine ivory providing a clean slate, the proverbial White Christmas oft dreamt about, but in this century of technology and transatlantic travel, one cannot allow idle admiration of the incoming inches. Rather, snow becomes slush, which ices over the roads, leaving a plethora of potential accidents waiting to happen, a consequential messy situation.

Alas, in the not-so-little town of Buffalo, there is celebration over reincarnation, in the form of “Baby” Joe Mesi, the undefeated heavyweight whose nearly two years of forced inactivity is finally over; the prolonged legal wrangling has produced a decision – no matter how technical – that will go down as a victory on the one-time contender’s ledger.

Down in the alphabetical ordering of states this story goes, from New York to Nevada, where Clark County District Court Judge Douglas Herndon presided over a case in which the resolution would impact Mesi’s health and wealth, favoring one at the expense of the other.

Herndon found that the state athletic commission’s medical suspension and subsequent countrywide ban – imposed after Mesi suffered two subdural hematomas during a unanimous decision win over Vassiliy Jirov, who sent “Baby Joe” to the canvas thrice in the bout’s final two rounds – was no longer valid, that the penalties were no longer enforceable since Mesi’s state boxing license expired.

And now, 21 months after rising to his feet three times to beat the count and eke out a one-point victory on each of the three judges’ scorecards, Mesi hopes to have avoided the knockout blow that kept him out of the gyms, out of the public eye, out of title contention in an always-open heavyweight landscape.

It is a gift from a Nevada magistrate, and on this white Christmas, Mesi awaits gifts from the magi – the promoters, the press and the fans – the three wise men of pugilism, each with their own unique brands of philanthropy.

The promoters, of course, come bearing gold, the riches associated with a popular white heavyweight who packs in the hometown crowds in upstate New York, a star with charm that was on the express train to prominence before being derailed.

The fans, of which there are many, lack myrrh, but make up for it with murmurs, which will become roars when the gates open and the crowds pour in to see their hero, “Baby Joe,” a man who reminds them that ordinary palookas can strive to succeed, the archetype of a fan favorite, the underdog Rocky story, an Italian stallion just like Mesi’s idol, the real claimant to Sylvester Stallone’s nickname, Rocky Marciano.

But the press are saddled down with their gift bags, which contain not frankincense, but just the idea of being incensed, anger born out of concern in a year that has seen the death of one proud, prominent pugilist in Leavander Johnson, as well as the losses of numerous, lesser-known but just as important fighters.

As desperate at times that we three kings have seemed in hoping for a savior, a cure for the heavyweight title blight, some hoped that Mesi’s suspension and the extended litigation to end it would work to save him. Instead of killing him with kindness, we were prolonging his life with frustration, nudging him toward retirement in the same manner that fans, commissions and pundits have been doing to Evander Holyfield for years.

Unfortunately, the same fighting spirit and grit required of an undersized boxer preparing to face today’s behemoths is what kept Mesi from quitting, from calling it a career and returning home to spend summers in the sun and winters seated cozily in front of a fireplace. “Baby Joe” has chosen long hours sweating in the gym, long runs in the too-early morning, long odds to confront and attempt to conquer.

The rewards of achievement are generally perceived as being sweetened by the journey taken to arrive at one’s destination, by the adversity overcome, the hurdles overtaken. Newly crowned champions can smile off soreness until the next morning, adrenaline pumping, the pride overwhelming.

Yet how sour will we feel each time this aspiring Rocky gets rocked, our stomachs turning as we imagine his brain rattling? What will the taste be in our mouths when Joe Mesi is on the receiving end of a rabbit punch, the same strike that Jirov injured him with? Who can’t imagine wincing repeatedly in the scenario that Mesi someday meets fellow contender Samuel Peter, whose power dwarfs that of former cruiserweight Jirov, and whose punches are wont to pummel the back of his opponent’s head just as often as they plaster the front?

Irving Berlin may have been dreaming of a white Christmas, but this scribe is frightened, not festive, plagued by the nightmarish possibilities of a very messy situation.

The 10 Count

1.  If February’s Fernando Vargas-Shane Mosley pay-per-view seemed bad enough, pitting two faded fighters together in a bout four years too late, what are we supposed to think about the announced March 11 PPV between Roy Jones Jr. and Bernard Hopkins, a rematch that comes thirteen years after the original, when the two are more prepared to retire than rumble?

A few years ago, back before Jones had been knocked out on consecutive occasions and prior to each changing their styles to accentuate economy over activity that opens one up to injury, this would have been a dream match, well worthy of the astronomical buyrates that the show will garner nonetheless. Now, with the rivalry diminished by their new roles – Jones as color commentator and Hopkins as promoter – it is an obvious attempt to sucker eight-figure paydays out of consumers whose expectations – should their recent performances provide any indications – will not be fulfilled.

2.  With the raging egos of multimillionaires expecting their wallets to be further lined, HBO now has three pay-per-views set for the first three months of the year, with two more possible for April and May. In chronological order, fans are being sold the idea of the Erik Morales-Manny Pacquiao rematch in January, Vargas-Mosley in February, Jones-Hopkins II in March, and then, in all likelihood, Zab Judah-Floyd Mayweather Jr. in April and Ricardo Mayorga-Oscar De La Hoya in May. Add in Top Rank’s Antonio Margarito-Manuel Gomez show, scheduled for a week prior to Vargas-Mosley, and the bottom line reads six PPVs at a cost upwards of $300.

3.  Knowing the tendencies of the premium cable outlet, HBO’s pay-per-views will also act as a detriment to the broadcasting of undercards on their so-called “free” shows. Generally, the network will re-air the PPV main event a week after, packaged with one live fight, a technique that will likely be used on the Arturo Gatti-Thomas Damgaard and Hasim Rahman-James Toney broadcasts, scheduled one week after Morales-Pacquiao II and Jones-Hopkins II, respectively.

4.  Quick observation: Pre-fight tussles are usually taken with a grain of salt, written off as cheap stunts for publicity. But when the WBC writes up a press release touting a “brawl that broke out between Hasim Rahman and James Toney … in Cancun, Mexico,” one cannot help but smirk with suspicion, no matter how many interviews Rahman and Toney do, talking trash and bickering over the details of the scrap, and no matter the reputation of Toney as an instigator and the memory of Rahman and Lennox Lewis crushing a table on the set of ESPN’s “Up Close.”

5.  Nevertheless, Toney took advantage of his time in Cancun, inspiring another press release with spontaneous nuptials, marrying his longtime girlfriend and fiancée Anjanette Corulli, the mother of his five children. Promoters Dan Goossen and Don King were at his side, and Toney was decked out in a t-shirt and some bling-bling, probably not the scenario that Corulli had dreamed of, although Toney told an interviewer that he will have a more formal ceremony following his bout with Rahman.

6.  Middleweight prospect Kelly Pavlik has reportedly plead no contest to charges that he punched an off-duty police officer that was working security at a bar in Youngstown, Ohio. He is facing up to six months in jail, but the penalty will not threaten his match against Jose Luis Zertuche on the undercard of Morales-Pacquiao II, since sentencing is not scheduled until the middle of February. Still, Pavlik is yet another boxer behaving badly, and hopefully this is just a blip on the radar of his life, as opposed to a sign of things to come, of another pugilist ending up wasting away his prime in a penitentiary.

7.  Norman Stone, John Ruiz’s longtime manager and sometimes trainer, has retired following his charge’s decision loss to Nicolay Valuev. Stone, recognized for bringing energy and colorful colloquialisms to the ring while “The Quiet Man” jabbed and grabbed until viewers, rather bored, snored, will not be missed by referees, opposing camps or those offended by profanity unfurled with a New England accent..

8.  Cruiserweight Jean-Marc Mormeck has enlisted the fans to help him choose an intimidating nickname, with voting held on Showtime’s website, and the options being “The Marksman,” “Mighty,” “The Wrecker,” “Black Thunder” and “Hit the Deck.” My vote went to “The Wrecker,” but if he loses in January to O’Neil Bell, I’m changing my pick to “French Toast.”

9.  Yet more bad luck for Juan Manuel Marquez, the former featherweight champion whose recent months have seen an unjust stripping of his titles and repeated postponements of a bout that he’s getting paid just $31,250 for. Marquez’s match with Chris John is now scheduled for March 4 in Indonesia, and he is likely regretting overestimating his value and spoiling a rematch with Manny Pacquiao, pulling in meager purses while the man he fought to a draw with headlines pay-per-views.

10.  This, obviously, is the last Fighting Words of 2005. I thank you for joining me every week since March, and I hope to have you back next year. 2006, here we come!