PRESS RELEASE: Classic Entertainment & Sports, Inc. (CES) has signed former heavyweight contender “Baby” Joe Mesi (35-0, 28 KOs) to an exclusive, multi-year promotional contract, CES president Jimmy Burchfield officially announced today. The 33-year-old Mesi, the pride of Buffalo, will fight Shannon Miller (15-3, 9 KOs) on October 12, 2007 in the ten-round main event at Twin River Events Center in Lincoln, Rhode Island.

“I’ve been interested in signing Joe Mesi since he scored a devastating knockout on one of my undercards in 2000 at Rhodes-on-the-Pawtuxet in Cranston (RI),” a delighted Burchfield explained his longtime relationship with Team Mesi – Joe, his father/manager Jack and agent Bob Spagnola. “Joe Mesi is what boxing needs today. He’s already a great commentator and he’s going to be a great promoter, but boxing is what Joe Mesi does and what he wants to continue doing. Joe feels that his life is incomplete until he captures the heavyweight championship of the world.

“My main concern with all of our fighters is their safety and well being. He has been examined by the top neurosurgeons in the world. I asked them for reports and a new MRI.  Joe has been approved for licensing by the state of Rhode Island. Jack loves his son and he has taken every precaution. We will provide Dr. Robert Cantu’s (Chief Neurosurgeon Emerson Hospital in Boston) evaluation report to any interested officials or people in the media. Dr. Cantu’s report states that Joe has no more of a chance of suffering a brain injury than he did before the (Vassiliy) Jirov fight or any other fighter does entering the ring.

“My credibility is on the line and I am 100-percent satisfied. Joe is what corporate America can relate to – a gentleman, articulate, handsome and he can box and punch. He has all of the right tools. Joe’s the third sports franchise back home in Buffalo. Everyone associated with CES is very happy that Joe has joined Team CES.”

CES has always featured popular Italian-American fighters starting with 5-time world champion Vinny Paz and continuing with Gary “Tiger” Balletto and Peter Manfredo, Jr. Mesi’s boxing idol is the late, great Rocky Marciano, who was unbeaten in 28 Rhode Island fights with 25 knockouts (1948-52 at the old Rhode Island Auditorium).

“We felt that at this point of my career,” Joe said, “it was in our best interest to get with a promoter. After talking with a lot of promoters, we decided that CES and Jimmy Burchfield was our best bet. He is very well respected, liked and trusted, which are uncommon in boxing. There’s something special about him in the community and he has no enemies. Everybody’s happy. We’ve signed with CES and Jimmy so he can assist us in getting back into the top 10 and eventually into a world championship fight. There are a lot of reasons why we fit, one being the large Italian-American communities in Providence and nearby Brockton (Marciano’s hometown) and Boston. There are a lot of great opportunities for us with CES throughout New England and the entire Northeast.”

Back in 2003 before his fight against Monte Barrett, New York City’s Italian-American community welcomed Joe with open arms and at one reception, Rocky Marciano’s brother, Peter, publically backed Joe, saying in all the years that had passed, Joe was the first to have the Marciano family’s blessing in terms of breaking Rocky’s 49-0 record.  Although flattered by the support of his idol’s family, Joe quickly noted that Rocky’s record would last forever because boxing was a different sport today and that Rocky had done it the right way.

“It meant so much to us that the Marciano’s gave Joe their blessings and we hope they come to Joe’s fight October 12 in Rhode Island,” Jack Mesi added. “We felt that we had brought Joe as far as we could in his comeback, 6-0, and we needed a highly respected promoter to take us to the next level – the world championship -- and Jimmy Burchfield is that promoter. He is a dynamo, an uncommon person in this sport. All of the so-called big name promoters have called me to make deals but we signed with CES and Jimmy Burchfield because he can get us to the world championship and all of us are very comfortable working with him.”

For ticket information regarding Joe Mesi’s CES debut on Oct. 12 at Twin River, contact CES (401.724.2253/2254 or www.cesboxing.com) or Twin River (877.82.RIVER/ www.twinriver.com).