GESTA TKO CUERO IN 8TH
By Dong Secuya
PhilBoxing.com
Sun, 15 Apr 2012
Filipino lightweight contender Mercito 'No Mercy' Gesta methodically broke down and overwhelmed Oscar Cuero of Columbia to win via 8th round TKO at the Mandalay Bay Resorts & Casino in Las Vegas moments ago.
Cuero apparently had no plans to engage Gesta from the very beginning and resorted to back-pedalling and holding all night where Cuero got repeated warnings from Referee Robert Byrd for holding. Gesta however was too sharp and quick for Cuero and punished the Columbian from the second round onwards.
A hard left to the body by Gesta early in the 5th round momentarily staggered Cuero. Gesta started to connect regularly to the head and body of Cuero even as Referee Robert Byrd deducted a point on Cuero for excessive holding.
A right to the body by Gesta sent Cuero to the canvas for the first time in the 7th round as it appeared it was only a matter of time before Gesta will finish the job.
Gesta continues to dig into the body and head of Cuero in the 8th round and apparently due to the accumulation of punishment, Cuero went down again without any clear shot from Gesta. Although Cuero stood at the count of 8, Referee Robert Byrd stopped the fight after seeing Cuero not fit to continue. The official time is at 1:38 seconds of the 8th round.
Gesta now improves to 25 wins, no loss, 1 draw with 13 stoppages. Cuero meanwhile succumbed his 8th defeat in 23 fights with 15 victories, 12 inside the distance.
The Gesta-Cuero fight together with the Rios-Abril and Marquez-Fedchenko, will be shown over Studio 23 (Philippines) starting at 12:30 pm today (Sunday).
Gesta (R) celebrates with his father Aniceto after dispatching Cuero (top photo) and stalks Cuero during the evening's action (above).
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Dong Secuya.
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