It didn’t come easy, but Mercito Gesta found a way to pull out a tough but clear unanimous decision win over an extremely determined Joel Diaz Jr. 

The fight opened with Diaz rushing Gesta, only to be met by hard straight left and right hook counters from the southpaw. Gesta hurt Diaz badly on multiple occasions in the first round, dropping him twice in what seemed like could be a short night. Diaz’s legs looked shaky and Gesta looked energized. 

But Diaz came out in the second determined, and asserted his size on Gesta, pushing him back and changing the tone of the fight. By the third round, the fight was a shoot out with Diaz stalking Gesta around the ring and occasionally pinning him to the ropes, while Gesta countered effectively with a very sharp straight left hand. The fight was pretty tit-for-tat up until the 8th round, where it appeared Gesta hurt Diaz once again. They battled through the final two rounds, but Gesta landed the cleaner shots especially in the tenth. I scored the fight 97-91 for Gesta. I could see the fight potentially being a little closer, as a lot of the middle rounds were tough to score, but Gesta’s shots landed cleaner and with more regularity, and by the end of the fight it was clear who the winner was. 

There are a few key take aways from this fight. Gesta started the fight looking explosive, and despite the comeback from Diaz, Gesta was able to remain composed under fire and pick his shots effectively. On the flip side, Diaz battled through adversity early in the first, and then through a headbutt midway through the fight to put on a gritty and entertaining performance. Gesta will probably find himself in a bigger fight off of this win, but I don’t think this performance hurts Diaz’s stock. He did however look a little drained, and didn’t react great to Gesta’s power. A change in weight class might make sense at this point. 

For Gesta (33-3-3, 17 ko), at 34 years old he looks revitalized after nearly three years out of the ring. He had good bounce in his legs, and both his hand speed and power were on point. He showed some layers to his game that we haven’t seen before, and I look forward to what comes next for him. After nearly 20 years as a professional, taking on some of the best in the world, there may be another chapter in the career Mercito Gesta. 

Jousce Gonzalez Earns it Against Veteran Jairo Lopez

In what looked like a fight that would end early, Jairo Lopez stuck around and fought back to test the undefeated Jousce Gonzalez. Most of the fight, it felt like Gonzalez was on the verge of a stoppage, but every time it looked like that was about to happen, Lopez would answer with a big flurry and keep himself in the fight. The bout was finally waved off in the sixth, but the crowd showed Lopez a lot of love the courageous effort. There a lot to like from Gonzalez, who is tall and long for a lightweight and doesn’t smother his work. 

Also on the card, Manuel Flores looked strong in a third round stoppage of Victor Ruiz, Jan Salvatierra drops and stops Ernie Marquez in the second, and Jorge Chavez got his second win as a pro in a second round stoppage of Jonathan Tejeda.