The huge banner hanging from the rafters of Buffalo's HSBC Arena read "Believe," and approximately seven minutes after heavyweight Joe Mesi emerged from underneath that banner, the local hero may have converted some skeptics with a 97-second blowout of DaVarryl Williamson in the main event of HBO's "Next Generation of Heavyweights" show Saturday night.

For Mesi (27-0, 25 KOs), it was the perfect step onto the world stage, and despite clear-cut decision wins by fellow heavyweights Dominick Guinn and Juan Carlos Gomez on the undercard, it was clear that the big winner in terms of public acceptance was "Baby Joe," regardless of home-field advantage.

Looking unusually comfortable under the bright HBO lights, Mesi ate a couple of jabs but then took over, jarring Williamson (18-2, 16 KOs) with fast combinations that started to the body and ended upstairs.

Not long into the second minute of the fight, Mesi jarred Williamson with a right hand followed by a left hook, and he didn't allow "Touch of Sleep" to escape, landing a left to end the fight at the 1:37 mark.

"My punching power is very underestimated," said Mesi, who declared that he is ready for the bigger fights against the best possible opposition. "I feel physically and mentally prepared. The question is: Who wants to fight me?"

He may have to look no further than Arkansas' Guinn, who continued to impress with a 10-round unanimous decision over a gutsy Duncan Dokiwari in a hard-fought bout that lifted the reputations of both men.

Scores were 97-93 twice and 98-92 for Guinn, 23-0 (17 KOs). With the loss, Dokiwari drops to 22-2 (19 KOs).

Both fighters came out throwing punches to start the fight, surprising some with the fast pace. And with the speed and impact of the punches thrown by both big men, there was no question that this is the precise reason why all fans love heavyweight boxing.

Dokiwari landed the bigger shots in the first round, but Guinn didn't move, proving that he has a heavyweight chin. The Nigerian giant continued his good fortune in the second, but by the second half of the frame, Guinn had started landing some bombs of his own -- short left hooks and right hands.

Late in the second, an apparent clash of heads opened a gash over Dokiwari's left eye, visibly bothering the once-beaten ex-Olympian.

Possibly sensing an early end to the bout that wouldn't be in his favor (referee Jim Santa did not rule the cut as being caused by a headbutt), Dokiwari -- previously accused of being passive -- continued to up the ante with a superior work rate against his smaller foe.

Guinn refused to back down, though, and despite eating some bombs early in the fifth, he continued to battle back and land his share of effective blows. Guinn seemed to take control when a right-left hook combination midway through the round staggered Dokiwari, but the Las Vegas resident was able to weather the storm.

With his cut left eye (as well as a rapidly swelling right eye) continuing to cause him grief, Dokiwari still fought on gamely, landing enough solid shots to earn his respect from Guinn, who was under corner pressure from his whole team to knock Dokiwari out (cutman Joe Souza told Guinn before the seventh, "Your mother's watching you. Don't let your mother down.").

In the seventh, Dokiwari caught Guinn in a neutral corner, and as he looked to lower the boom, the Arkansas native shot in a short left hook to the jaw that forced his opponent to hold on to survive the round.

The final three rounds saw Guinn mix up his punches well and do more than enough to keep Dokiwari on his heels, earning him the victory as well as the respect of any who believed his June win over Michael Grant was a fluke. And in defeat, Dokiwari may have earned more fans than he had accumulated with his previous 22 wins, as he showed tremendous grit in some adverse conditions.

In the opener, former cruiserweight champion Gomez kept his hopes for heavyweight glory on the upswing with a lopsided 10-round decision over former Universum stablemate Sinan Samil Sam.

Scores were 98-91, 99-90 and 97-92 for Gomez, who lifts his unbeaten record to 37-0 with 31 KOs. Sam drops to 18-1 (11 KOs).

A few hundred miles removed from Gomez in terms of speed, the brave Sam nonetheless put up a valiant effort in defeat, constantly moving forward in the face of a high volume of punches from the Cuban star.

From the opening chimes, Gomez played to his strengths, using a southpaw jab and some impressive combination punching to befuddle Sam, who nonetheless kept stepping into the fray, where he had some success with right hands to the jaw of Gomez, who might have been in some deep trouble if hit with those same punches delivered by a bigger-punching heavyweight.

Gomez scored the only knockdown in the fight, a flash number in the first courtesy of a quick left and follow-up right. Sam immediately made it to his feet, and neither fighter was ever in serious trouble for the rest of the bout.

By the fourth round, Gomez had built up an early lead, and instead of sitting on it, he decided to engage with Sam, who had his moments but not enough to win rounds from his opponent.

An accidental clash of heads produced a cut over Gomez's left eye, but with a lack of speed and fight-ending power, Sam was unable to capitalize, and he was forced to continue stalking as Gomez danced away the final two frames.