BUFFALO, N.Y. -- Joe Mesi stopped DaVarryl Williamson 97 seconds into a scheduled 10-round heavyweight bout Saturday night.

Mesi (27-0, 25 KOs) used two right-left combinations early in the first round to stagger Williamson, then floored him with a left hook.

Williamson (18-2, 16 KOs) stayed on the mat for about four minutes before he was able to sit up.

"I had an idea I was going to take him out early," Mesi said. "I'm very underestimated. He hit me with a few jabs, but he left himself way to open."

Mesi showed a national cable boxing audience exactly who "Baby Joe" is. After being criticized for padding his record against soft opponents, Williamson provided Mesi's biggest test to date. Mesi didn't disappoint.

Before a partisan home crowd of nearly 12,000, Mesi quickly dominated. After the two exchanged blows, Mesi rocked Williamson with the first of his combinations.

Williamson was stunned but seemed to gather himself until Mesi unloaded again with a right-left combo.

"As soon as I started moving my hands with speed and power, I knew if I threw five punches, at least two were going to connect," Mesi said. "I knew I'd have to take a couple to give some. That's how it worked out."

Williamson was coming off a 10-round unanimous decision over Robert Wiggins in January. His other loss was Oct. 6, 2000, against Willie Chapman.

Mesi registered an 80-second knockout of Robert Davis in his last bout, in June.

Mesi held a 23-pound advantage over Williamson, and it showed. Williamson was counting on his quickness to defeat Mesi but was unable to get out of the way of Mesi's heavy punches.

Before the match, Mesi was ordered to retape his gloves because he used electrical tape.

"It seemed like a plan to stall our warm-up," Mesi said.

Mesi was ranked 11th by the World Boxing Council and 12th by the World Boxing Association.

Williamson was ranked 27th by the WBC.

Promoter Lou DiBella said Mesi has established himself as a top fighter with the boxing world.

"He just beat a guy who has a great punch," DiBella said. "Yeah, he's legitimate."

In the first televised match of the evening, Juan Carlos Gomez outpointed Sinan Samil Sam in a 10-round cruiserweight fight.

Gomez (37-0, 31 KOs), who is promoted by Sugar Ray Leonard Boxing, was able to knock down Samil Sam in the first round and then dominate the rest of the fight.

"I hurt him in the first when I got him down, but he has a real good chin," Gomez said.

With the loss, Sam drops to 18-1 with 11 KOs.

Dominick Guinn (23-0, 17 KOs) outpointed Duncan Dokiwari (22-2, 19 KOs) in a 10-round cruiserweight bout.

After a sluggish start, Guinn cut Dokiwari under the left eye in the third round and staggered him in the fifth with a left hook. Dokiwari's right eye was almost completely shut by the end of the fight.

"Our game plan was to hit him with body shots," Guinn said. "He was doing the same, but my hands were quicker."