This Friday, unbeaten Filipino boxer Mercito “No Mercy” Gesta (25-0-1, 13 KOs) headlines ESPN 2’s Friday Night Fights from the Texas Station Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada against dangerous, and upset-minded Ty Barnett (20-2-1, 13 KOs).
The enmity between Gesta and Barnett has been brewing these past weeks after the 29-year-old outspoken Washington D.C. slugger called out the Mandaue City, Cebu as a “pretender” and said he plans to exploit his many mistakes. Gesta has opted to leave his talking inside the ring, but rest assured, Barnett’s critical words did not fall on deaf ears.
“He talks a lot, we know that,” Gesta’s co-trainer and co-manager Vince Parra responded to Barnett’s trash talks. “We’re expecting a tough fight. We respect him (Barnett). We hope to teach him a litte bit more about respect,” he added.
Video: Mercito Gesta’s message to fans, Vince Parra reaction to Ty Barnett
A little bit of history that Gesta will be aiming to reverse will be riding on his shoulders in the fact that the last two Filipinos that were featured on the show, Mark Melligen and Bernabe Concepcion, suffered heartbreaking losses. Melligen started off strong and was leading through the first four rounds, but succumbed to the pressure from veteran Sebastian Lujan almost a year ago. Concepcion on the underhand dropped a disappointing split decision loss to journeyman Juan Carlos Martinez just a couple of months prior to Melligen’s.
But Gesta does not only plan to reverse Filipino boxers’ fortunes on FNF, he intends to put forth a sensational performance and use Barnett as his statement to his promoter that he is ready for a title shot. Not one to predict a knockout, Gesta believes that if Barnett holds true to his promise of engaging him throughout the night, the converted southpaw will oblige and the fight may not go the distance.
A win opens doors for a clash with IBF lightweight champ Miguel Vazquez, whom Gesta’s camp have been eyeing for a while now.
