GESTA RED HOT, RIOS FALLS FLAT
By Rene Bonsubre, Jr.
PhilBoxing.com
Sun, 15 Apr 2012
Cebuano southpaw Mercito ?No Mercy? Gesta gave another impressive performance when he stopped Oscar Cuero of Colombia in eight rounds at the Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada. Gesta was both merciless and methodical, mixing his offense with body and head shots. A hard right to the ribs sent Cuero down in the seventh and he eventually succumbed to more body punishment in the eighth.
This was the third Vegas outing for the 24 year old Gesta (25W-0L-1D, 13 KO's). Last October 4, 2007 he stopped Carlos Vinan of Ecuador in four rounds at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino. Then on November 11 of last year, he won a ten round unanimous decision over Ricardo Dominguez of Mexico in a fight also held at the Mandalay Bay.
The 26 year old Cuero drops to 15W-8L, 12 KO's. Six of his eight losses happened in the United States. Gesta continues his search for a big name opponent. Top Rank has been known to steadily build up their fighters. But Gesta's growing fan base will obviously demand for bigger fights.
This was a proud moment for his father Anecito, who was in his corner. The former kickboxer knows the nuances of the fight game. Last December, when the Gestas were watching a fight card here in Cebu, Anecito approached the corner of one boxer, whose cornermen were his friends, and gave advice after the said boxer suffered a knockdown. Anecito's advice was enough to make the fight competitive.
I would love to see that knowledge against top ten contenders.
BOXING FANS APRIL FOOLED
For twelve rounds, Richard Abril exposed Brandon Rios as a one-dimensional fighter but the Cuban wound up a surprising loser by split decision. I was just as shocked as Abril with the scores of 116-112 and 115-113 for Rios. It was 117-111 for Abril on the third judge's tally. I had Rios winning only three rounds in my scorecard.
Abril's long reach, footwork, jab, sneaky right and punch and grab tactics were enough to confuse Rios, whose moods swung from passive to frustrated. Rios was aggressive but not effective. Judges should be able to know the difference.
NEXT WEEKEND IN CEBU
The Pe?alosa brothers, Dodie,Jr and Dave, will see action at the Mandaue City Sports Complex on April 21.
Marvin Mabait will defend his Philippine superflyweight title for the first time against Marco Demecillo Singwangcha at the Lapu-lapu Shrine in Mactan on April 22.
(Top photo- Mercito Gesta in San Remigio,Cebu last December)
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