"I cannot afford to get out of shape. My speed and punching strength are keys of my game. The afternoon workouts in the gym with Juan are very important for me to keep myself in boxing shape."

A Day in the Life of a Boxer

Aside from some days off around Christmas and the New Year, the undefeated heavyweight "Baby Joe" Mesi continues his regular, intense multiple workout sessions since his last fight.

Depending on the weather, the 33-year-old boxer begins his daily run at 6:30 each morning around Delaware Park or on the treadmill at Canisius College. He continues his training with trainer, Chuck Pelitera, the strength and conditioning coach at Canisius. Since the beginning of 2001, Mesi spends each afternoon working out in the boxing gym at the Northwest Community Center with head trainer Juan DeLeon.

"I cannot afford to get out of shape," Mesi said. "My speed and punching strength are keys of my games so the morning work is vital. The afternoon workouts in the gym with Juan are very important for me to keep myself in boxing shape."

Once a date for a fight is finalized, Baby Joe, Juan and Pelitera begin working out against the calendar. They follow their regular routine until six weeks before the fight, when they add sparring to the mix. They travel to meet sparring partners who closely resemble their next opponent.

Once an opponent is identified, Manager Jack Mesi or Agent Bob Spagnola obtains videos of his past fights. Copies are made for Jack, Joe and Juan and each evening they study various rounds to determine a game plan for the fight.

Studying Video

"Studying video is a very big part of our training," Baby Joe explained. "When training on the road, Juan and I get my dad on the phone at night and we all study certain aspects of the fighter."

A Day in the Life of a Boxer

Here is a look at the day in the life of Baby Joe 10 days out from the fight (if they are in Buffalo). If on the road, it is the same, except they go to the hotel or the gym.

6:00am. Wake up; vitamins and water.

6:30am. Meet head trainer, Juan DeLeon, at Delaware Park for 45 minutes of straight jogging or wind sprints every third day. Afterwards, Joe and Juan shadow box for 20 minutes with stretching before and after the workout.

8:00am. Return home for breakfast, a light, protein-filled meal, followed by a one-hour nap.

10:00am. Meet trainer Chuck Pelitera at Canisius College for a 90 minute strength and conditioning workout.

NOON. Home for lunch.

12:30pm. Homework, phone calls, review media requests or return emails for one hour. Phone is taken off the hook for an undisturbed hour of rest.

3:00pm. Northwest Community Center's Police Athletic League's boxing gym with trainer Juan DeLeon for floor work; hand pad work in the ring; heavy bag and speed work; and abdominal work. Juan also supervises and times several rounds of sparring with an opponent of the same size as Mesi for his upcoming fight. These workouts last between 2-3 hours.

6:00pm. Home for a large dinner.

7:00pm. Review of video with his team; check emails, homework, and relax.

9:00pm. Lights out.

Night Before a Fight

On the night before a fight, there is always an early evening weigh-in for the fighters. Baby Joe arrives with headphones on listening to his favorite music. He does not get into much small talk with other boxers. Afterwards, he has a quiet dinner with his Dad and other Team Mesi members before retreating to his room.

With trainer Juan DeLeon either in the room adjacent to Mesi or directly across the hall, the fighter relaxes with his music, reads, or falls asleep. There are no phone calls.

Fight Day

On fight day, everyone follows Baby Joe's lead. When he gets up for breakfast, the team has breakfast. He goes back to his room and relaxes until he returns for lunch. During the afternoon, his father leads a fight-day tradition of finding a Catholic Church in which they pray. Then it's back to his room before a light dinner.

90 minutes before Fight Time

Approximately 90 minutes before a scheduled fight, it's time to leave the hotel for the arena. Mesi casually walks with Juan, listening to Christian music, tapes from his friend Tom Sartori, or other rock tapes.

Once inside their locker room, Juan begins the slow, arduous process of taping Mesi, followed by a stretching program from Pelitera. While many fighters travel with large entourages, Team Mesi calls their group, "The Family." His father, his brother, Tom, his cousin, Johnny, Gene Vukelic, Juan's son and friends crowd the room and once Joe is ready to warm up, the crowd encourages him with loud noise, which continues until he reaches the ring. Before the warm-up, the team gathers around Fr. Jack Ledwin for a prayer.

"I love to get sweaty during those warm-ups." Baby Joe said. "It gets me pumped up for the walk to the ring and the start of the fight. The key for us is that everything is done the same way for every fight."