Former two-time title challenger Mercito “No Mercy” Gesta will try to continue his comeback trail against the talented and hard hitting Joel Diaz Jr. in a lightweight bout on Golden Boy Fight Night, live from the Fantasy Springs Casino in Indio, California on April 21.
Gesta (32-3-3, 17KOs) is a explosive southpaw with quick combos who comes from the Philippines and looked up to Manny Pacquiao.
Years later he ended up training at the Wildcard Boxing gym under Pacquiao’s longtime trainer Freddie Roach and assistant Marvin Somodio.
Gesta’s first title bid came on the undercard of Manny Pacquiao vs. Juan Manuel Marquez IV in 2012, and he went up against the IBF lightweight champion from Mexico, Miguel Vazquez. The fight was a snoozer and Gesta couldn’t catch the elusive and defensive champion and eventually lost by a wide unanimous decision.
After getting some good wins under his belt his second title shot came several years later against WBA lightweight champion Jorge Linares in 2018. Gesta was confident he would stop Linares but the fight ended up being competitive and went to the decision with Linares beating the Filipino challenger.
The 34-year-old Gesta suffered a stoppage defeat and fought to a draw in his last two outings, he hasn’t fought since 2019 and with the more than two-year layoff he feels his body is stronger and fresher with the time off to recover.
Joel Diaz Jr. is the son of top trainer Joel Diaz Sr. and although his father doesn’t work his corner he still carries the family name when he enters the ring.
Once a highly touted prospect he states his biggest loss was to Regis Prograis in 2017 when he fought the soon to be light welterweight world champion and was stopped in the second round. Now he fights at the lightweight division and feels stronger than ever.
Diaz Jr. believes the two losses in his boxing career were learning experiences and at the age of 30 his maturity and strength are peaking and he will show it against Gesta and will have the support of a hometown crowd at the Fantasy Springs Casino.
Golden Boy Fight Night Card
Joel Diaz Jr. vs. Mercito Gesta
Jousce Gonzalez vs. Jairo Lopez
Jorge Chavez vs. Miguel Marquez
Manuel Flores vs. Victor Ruiz
Jan Salvatierra vs. Ernie Marquez
Mercito Gesta vs. Joel Diaz Jr. on Thursday, April 21, 2022, at 9:00/6:00 PM ET/PT Live Stream on DAZN.com.
