BUFFALO, N.Y. — Joe Mesi scored a second-round technical knockout over journeyman Dennis Matthews last weekend, earning his third straight win in a comeback after being medically suspended because of a brain injury.

The heavyweight (32-0) won the fight in Russellville, Ark., on Saturday when Matthews’ corner threw in the towel, Arkansas Athletic Commission secretary Johnny Mattingly said Monday. Matthews’ record dropped to 9-27 in a fight scheduled to go four rounds.

The WBC’s former top-ranked contender, Mesi was suspended by Nevada boxing officials after sustaining at least two subdural hematomas — bleeding on the brain — in winning a unanimous decision over Vassiliy Jirov in Las Vegas in March 2004. A Nevada judge lifted the suspension in February.

The Buffalo native still faces obstacles in his comeback because the nation’s most prominent commissions — including Nevada and New York — have rules against licensing boxers that have a history of brain bleeds.

Copyright 2006 by The Associated Press