You know that it would take a special kind of talent to generate buzz of their own in the wake of such a thrilling war as this weekend?s Brandon Rios-Urbano Antillon scrap in Carson, California, but contender Mercito Gesta certainly has some redeeming qualities that are hard to forget.
While Rios, the WBA lightweight champion, would dispatch Antillon in under three rounds in electric fashion, further stamping his star attraction, it was Gesta who was impressive in his own right with his 3rd round dissection of Mexican journeyman Jorge Pimentel. While Rios was aggressive and unrelenting, Gesta painted a completely different picture, controlling the action against Pimentel with poise, precision, and power.
The fight marked Gesta?s debut under the Las Vegas-based Top Rank Promotions and at the post fight press conference promoter Bob Arum addressed the 23-year old?s immediate future, stating plans of a Top Rank Live showing in the next few months and possibly a title shot at IBF lightweight champion Miguel Vazquez on the undercard of the December 3rd Miguel Cotto-Antonio Margarito rematch. An intriguing scenario indeed and when eyeing Gesta?s near future a few things come to mind.
First off, watching the Mandaue City, Cebu native inside of the ring, you get the sense that the kid is wise beyond his years. He has a certain patience about him while still finding a way to take the initiative. Against Pimentel he didn?t rush things and let the fight come to him, fully realizing the advantages he possessed.
Still, the ringside consensus was that budding Filipino may not be ready for a fighter of Rios? level at this moment despite all of his promise. A fight with Vazquez actually is a decent matchup, as the Jalisco-born Mexican fighter is a blue-collar type of worker but doesn?t do anything special inside of the ring. Vazquez was seen by many winning a tough decision over Australia’s Leonardo Zappavigna inside of the MGM Grand in Las Vegas this past March underneath Cotto’s destruction of Ricard Mayorga and it would be interesting to see the left-handed Gesta attempt to break him down. Advertisement
But the fight that really gets me thinking, one I would love for Gesta later in the year or early 2012, would be against rough and ready banger Michael Katsidis. The easy-going Aussie fights like a bat out of hell but has come up short in some of his biggest bouts to date against the likes of Joel Casamayor, Juan Diaz, Juan Manuel Marquez, and most recently Robert Guerrero this past April inside of the MGM Grand.
Katsidis has been through some wars in recent years and may already be slowing down at age 30, but he is certainly dangerous. Just look at his bout with Marquez last November, a fight in which he scored an emphatic 3rd round knockdown before being worn down and stopped in the ninth round.
Katsidis fits the role of a gate keeper type these days and if Gesta could be him soundly it would say something. The recent cold war between Top Rank and Golden Boy, Katsidis? promoter, appears to be cooling down and it is a fight that could be made.
Chris Robinson is based out of Las Vegas, Nevada. He can be reached at [email protected]
