Vote New York

By TRYMAINE LEE

Published: May 6, 2008

BUFFALO — The punch came late in the ninth round, crashing into the back of the boxer’s head like a snap of thunder. Dazed, he crumbled to a knee. Twice more he would hit the canvas.

The boxer, Joe Mesi, hung on to win the fight. But the beating he took, and the injuries he suffered, signaled the beginning of the end of his boxing career.

Fast forward four years.

Once in contention for the heavyweight crown, Mr. Mesi, known as Baby Joe, is today a contender for a different title: state senator. A Democrat, his pretty-boy swagger, popularity and fame have helped turn what was expected to be a sleepy race in the suburbs of Buffalo into a competitive and important contest in the battle for control of the Senate, analysts say.

Just a few months ago, the 61st Senate District, encompassing the northern part of Erie County and all of Genesee County in western New York, was solidly in Republican hands. But in January, the popular 15-year incumbent, Mary Lou Rath, announced that she would retire at the end of the year.

Suddenly, Democrats, who need to capture two seats to take control of the Senate for the first time in 40 years, think they have a real chance at winning a seat that had been thought secure by Republicans. And an upset victory in this district, where registered Republicans outnumber Democrats by several thousand, would get them one big step closer to controlling the Senate.

“There is a real opportunity for a pickup here,” said Doug Forand, the Senate Democrats’ top strategist. “This is an exciting race for us because it wasn’t part of our original plan,” he said. “This one was not on our radar, not until Senator Rath announced her retirement.”

Soon after Ms. Rath made the announcement, Joseph L. Bruno, the Senate majority leader and the state’s top Republican, commented: “That’s a Republican seat; we’ll be O.K. We have a depth of people behind her.”

But when Mr. Mesi tossed his hat into the ring last month, he immediately changed the dynamic of the race, analysts say. His record as a professional boxer is 36-0 (with 29 by knockout) and he is sometimes referred to as this city’s third franchise, after the Buffalo Bills and Buffalo Sabres.

Mr. Mesi, 34, announced his candidacy in a fashion that one might expect: before hundreds of cheering fans. He stood at the center of a roller skating rink just minutes before the start of a women’s roller derby event. As skaters swooshed by, members of the audience rose to their feet and screamed, “Baby Joe!”

“I am running to bring an independent voice, strong leadership and the average person’s point of view and values back to Albany,” he told reporters and patrons gathered at an Italian restaurant later that night.

Analysts believe that his celebrity will lend itself to the kind of big-money fund-raising needed to win Senate seats. And Mr. Mesi, a native of Tonawanda, a suburb of Buffalo, admits that he still has to prove that he is serious about politics and is not just some “dumb boxer.”

His days are filled politicking and his nights studying politics and policy because “I don’t know everything,” he said.

“The big challenge for him is to prove that he knows something about state government,” said Kevin R. Hardwick, a professor of political science at Canisius College in Buffalo. “It’ll be very interesting to see how he behaves in debates. Obviously, his handlers will have him out there with prepared lines, but to see him think on his feet is the big test, whether he is a boxer or a candidate for State Senate.”

The lone Republican candidate so far is Mike Ranzenhofer, an Erie County legislator who has the support of Ms. Rath.

But first Mr. Mesi must face off against two Democrats, Michelle Iannello, an Erie County legislator, and Dan Ward, an Amherst town councilman, in a primary in early September. (Ms. Iannello is Mr. Ward’s sister-in-law.)

Mr. Ward, an attorney, said that although he is a fan of Mr. Mesi’s, he has never backed down from a good political bout.

“It’s just another fight,” Mr. Ward said. “Politically, I’ve been able to take a punch and I’ve always gotten back up. I haven’t stayed on the mat in any of these races.”

Ms. Iannello said that perhaps Mr. Mesi should have paid more political dues before making a run for “one of the most important seats in New York State.”

Senator Bruno said: “I think he’s better served continuing his career in boxing. He’s undefeated, and I don’t think he wants to get into an arena that’s unknown to him.”

Mr. Bruno, who was the undefeated light-heavyweight boxing champion of his Army regiment in Korea, helped to promote Mr. Mesi’s most recent fight, a 10-round match last year against Shannon Miller, by putting on a display of his heavy-bag skills at a Gold’s Gym in the Albany area. Clearly, Mr. Bruno is no longer in Mr. Mesi’s corner.

“He’s well known as an athlete, but what does that mean as a senator representing the constituency in Albany?” Mr. Bruno said.

Mr. Mesi, the candidate, has already weathered one embarrassing situation. The night he announced his candidacy, he and his fiancée ended up in a pub in North Tonawanda where a fight broke out. Local news organizations reported that Mr. Mesi got into a shoving match with a patron that ended with Mr. Mesi punching the man several times.

Mr. Mesi denied the allegations, saying that when he noticed a fight starting, he shielded his fiancée, pushed through the crowd and headed for the exit.

The North Tonowanda Police have no plans to file charges against Mr. Mesi, said Officer Lee Bolsover, a spokesman for the department. But Mr. Mesi was forced to defend himself publicly.

“I have never been in a fight outside of the ring in my life. no matter what you read,” he told a group of supporters at a steakhouse in Buffalo on a recent night. “I wouldn’t do that as a boxer, let alone a politician.”

Four years ago, Mr. Mesi was fighting his way to the top of the boxing world. But his match in 2004 against Vassiliy Jirov in Las Vegas changed everything.

During the fight, he suffered subdural hematomas, or bleeding on the brain. He said he healed quickly, but within weeks, a medical report on his injury was released — without his knowledge, he said — to the media. The Nevada State Athletic Commission suspended his boxing license and every boxing commission in the country followed suit.

For almost two years, he battled court decisions denying him the right to fight. A handful of states eventually allowed him back in the ring. His comeback included seven victories, the last one against Mr. Miller in October.

But things were never the same, he said. And boxing became less lucrative and less of a priority in his life, though he leaves the door open a crack to fighting again.

“Am I retired from boxing? No,” Mr. Mesi said. “Am I going to box again? Maybe not,” he added. “I never made any plans to have a teary-eyed retirement press conference.”

Mr. Mesi said that he had in the past toyed with the idea of running for political office, but instead opted to work behind the scenes for local Democratic campaigns. But a few months ago, his older brother was laid off with about 580 other workers from local American Axle & Manufacturing plants, which make parts for General Motors, and he decided that it was time to get involved.

On a recent afternoon, Mr. Mesi loaded up his campaign manager’s sport utility vehicle with coffee and doughnuts and headed to one of the plants to support striking workers.

The workers hoisted signs in the air and hurled insults at people crossing the picket line. They gathered round Mr. Mesi, who wore a dark blue pinstriped suit with a pin on the lapel that read, in part, “Joe Mesi Candidate.”

“I consider you guys family,” Mr. Mesi told them. “My brother is out of a job, too. It hit close to home.”

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