LAS VEGAS (AP) -- Heavyweight Joe Mesi, sidelined since suffering bleeding on the brain after a 2004 bout, won a chance Monday to return to the ring when a state judge ruled his medical suspension expired when his Nevada boxing license expired.

Mesi, 32, said he and his father and manager, Jack Mesi, plan to go to Puerto Rico to train for a comeback fight, although they don't have an opponent or venue in mind.

"I'm going to be happy to put the gloves back on again and box again," the Buffalo, N.Y.-based fighter said. "I'm happy it's over. It's been a long, dreadful roller coaster ride these last two years."

In a ruling that Nevada boxing regulators said will shake up fight licensing in Nevada, Clark County District Court Judge Douglas Herndon ruled the Nevada Athletic Commission had no jurisdiction to enforce Mesi's suspension once Mesi's Nevada boxing license expired last Dec. 31.

The judge also said that having a license gave the boxer a property right that required the commission to follow due process rules before banning him from the ring.

But the judge didn't fault the state for suspending Mesi for medical reasons after Mesi suffered at least two subdural hematomas in winning a unanimous decision against Vassiliy Jirov in Las Vegas in March 2004.

"Nothing would lead me to reverse (the commission) decision," Herndon said. "But I cannot see how the suspension can outlive the license."

Marc Ratner, the Athletic Commission's executive director, said state boxing regulators will have to rewrite rules ensuring that boxers who fight late in the calendar year don't fight again before they are medically or physically ready.

Ratner said the ruling might allow boxers whose licenses expire to circumvent a state prohibition against fighting more than once in 30 days or if they are injured.

Boxing safety in Nevada has become an acute issue this year, following the deaths in Las Vegas of boxers Martin Sanchez in July and Leavander Johnson in September. It was the first time since 1933 that two fighters died in Nevada in the same year. Two other boxers suffered brain bleeding this year, officials said Monday.

Keith Kizer, the deputy state attorney general who represented the commission, said officials would have to decide whether to appeal Herndon's ruling to the Nevada Supreme Court.

Meanwhile, Mesi is free to fight. He was 29-0 and was the World Boxing Council's top-ranked contender when he was sidelined.

"I took the tests. All the requirements have been met. I'm healthy," he said Monday, adding that he thought it would take a year and several fights before he regained championship form.