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Philippines, 12 Mar 2026 |
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GESTA WINS BIG IN SIN CITY By Rich Mazon PhilBoxing.com Sat, 04 Aug 2012  Mercito Gesta came to The Entertainment Capital of the World to not only win but to win big. And with the lights and sounds of Las Vegas behind him, the 24 year old Mandaue City born fighter did just that. Gesta scored an impressive 9th round TKO of American Ty Barnett at the Texas Station Casino in a bout that headlined ESPN?s Friday Night Fights. The Cebuano pugilist started strong, opening the fight with multiple and speedy combinations on his counterpart. He connected right away with those combinations as Barnett covered up. Barnett went to the body and landed a two shot combination as a reply to Gesta. Gesta and Barnett exchanged shots in Round 2, a right landed for the American followed by a straight left. Gesta returned the favor with a four punch combination which scored for him. Barnett clinched onto Gesta after that. Barnett started the 3rd round on fire. He scored a big right hand on the Filipino which moved Gesta?s head backwards. His jab found its mark on Gesta?s face then he followed that up with a good body shot. He finished the round with a perfectly placed straight right that cemented that round for him. Barnett opened the 4th with effective jabbing as Gesta pressed him in the 4th. An accidental clashed of heads occurred between the two fighters which fortunately did not produce any cuts on both. Gesta jumped in on the final seconds of this round with a four punch combination that pleased the predominantly Gesta crowd. The undefeated Gesta continued his assault on the 5th with a big right hook. A well placed uppercut landed squarely on his opponent?s chin, hurting him in the process. Barnett clinched onto Gesta after receiving those punches. Gesta landed 20 of his 58 power shots in this round against a hurt Barnett. Gesta continued to press his foe in the 6th and 7th round. Barnett, who is now on the retreat after tasting the Filipino?s power tried to fend him off with his jabs. Gesta landed sparingly in these two rounds as Barnett was forced in a defensive mode. Gesta continued his pursuit of the Washington DC fighter in the 8th, pinning him in the ropes at one point. Two scoring punches came through for Gesta on that occasion. Barnett escaped the trap and used his jabs to once again keep Gesta away. Barnett?s corner raised the alarm level in the lull prior to the 9th round. ?What are you holding him for?? yelled a man in his corner. ?You really need to go for it!? advised his trainer. But Barnett did not have the chance to do that as a rampaging Gesta landed 2 vicious left hooks on him. That dropped Barnett down but the American beat referee Jay Nady?s eight- count to continue fighting. A head hunting Gesta then unleashed his attack on his foe, landing with both hands on his troubled foe. Another vicious left hook got Barnett after the bell rang which dropped him yet again. A wobbly and dizzy Barnett tried to beat the count but Nady had enough. Referee Jay Nady halted the fight thereon as Barnett?s corner climbed the ring to his rescue. The time of the stoppage was 2:59 of the 9th. Mercito Gesta kept his pristine record with the win but more importantly wowed the audience both in the venue and those watching in televisions and in internet streamings in the Philippines. He raised his record to 26 wins and 14 knockouts. Barnett dropped to 20 -3-1 with this defeat. Mercito won big yet again in Sin City and hopes that this victory will propel him into bigger fights in the future and the title shot that he longed wish for. You can email the author at rrmaze24@aol.com for any reactions to this piece. Click here to view a list of other articles written by Rich Mazon .  |
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