Can Gesta thrive under the microscope?
By Rene Bonsubre, Jr.
PhilBoxing.com
Mon, 11 Jul 2011
When Luisito Espinosa fought in San Francisco, California and Honolulu, Hawaii during the late 1980?s, his exploits were followed by only a few Filipino fans. Only the established boxing writers here in the Philippines wrote about him and very few actually cared when they labeled him a future world champ in the national broadsheets.
Present day Filipino fight fans would be hard pressed if quizzed about Rudy Barro and Johnny Sato. These Pinoys fought in the United States during the 1970?s and early 80?s but did not win world titles. There were many Filipino boxers like them - who fought before the age of cable television and the world wide web ? whose names are now forgotten.
When Mercito ?No Mercy? Gesta started his U.S. campaign in 2007, Manny Pacquiao was already a huge star. The internet made it easy to chronicle and hype Pacquiao?s meteoric rise. It also made every Filipino contender who followed him the subject of world wide scrutiny.
The 23 year old Gesta would have had difficulty making noise in the talent rich California boxing scene if it wasn?t for the growing number of Filipino boxing writers and fans. The unbeaten southpaw?s fight against Jorge Pimentel was shown Sunday night on Philippine television. I?m sure a lot of fans stayed up to watch his debut under Top Rank. Gesta blew away Pimentel in three rounds, scoring a knockdown in every round. Gesta also easily handled the post-fight interview.
The downside to all this is that his performance in every fight will undergo more analyses than a science experiment. The record of his future opponents and Gesta?s progress will be dissected like a frog in Biology class.
I was reminded of the conversation I had with Gesta here in Cebu during the Christmas season. I asked him who was his toughest opponent so far and he answered that the technical draw he had with the more experienced Rey Llagas in 2005; Llagas was 58W-28L-2D while Gesta was 9W-0L. He further explained that it had the potential of a tough fight but it was stopped in the second round due to a cut caused by a clash of heads.
It?s not hard to read between the lines that he has never been tested. We do not know yet how he will react if things do not go his way or how he?ll react to a knockdown or will he survive a battle of attrition. Gesta will need to have a diet of experience building bouts
But the progress that he made in his career has been quite remarkable. Considering that he never had an amateur background, his transition from the world of kickboxing has been smooth.
But many Filipino fans have grown cynical about promising but unproven Pinoy boxers given unearned accolades. When they lose, fans dismiss them as overhyped bums. Gesta will have to handle the pressure. He needs not only to learn as a fighter but also to thrive in this kind of environment.
(File photo above- Gesta vs Valle)
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Rene Bonsubre, Jr..
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