THE return bout between Mercito “Guerrero” Gesta and James “King Solomon” Garcia in the Ground and Pound II Mixed Martial Arts and Kickboxing Championships, which was supposedly set Oct.28 at the Cebu Coliseum, was shoved aside after both fighters backed out from the match.
The 19-year-old Mandaue City-native Gesta, who is a professional bantamweight division boxer and a kickboxer, begged off from the match as he will be fighting in the undercard of the Pacquiao-Morales 3 next month in Las Vegas.
The southpaw Gesta carries a professional record of 10 wins without a loss, including three KOs and a draw and is ranked seventh in the Games and Amusement Board (GAB) and 47th in the International Boxing Organization (IBO).
Gesta, though, has yet to know his foe in the Pacquiao-Morales 3 tiff.
He was also supposed to debut abroad last March against WBC International featherweight champion Jeffrey Mathebula but Gesta failed to show up for the medical examination before the scheduled fight.
“That’s great news that Gesta will be in the undercard fight in the prestigious boxing card,” said Ultimate Submission Fighting general manager Richard Tan.
Gesta, who fights under the supervision of Rex Wakee Salud, defeated the Yaw-Yan Pasay member Garcia in a controversial majority decision in their five-round 134-pound kickboxing match in the first edition of the Ground and Pound.
Garcia, a member of the Philippine Team, on the other hand, was forced to back out from the Ground and Pound after has committing to another tourney.
With the cancellation of the Gesta-Garcia fight, the match between Carry “The Prince” Bullos of YawYan Musang and Jonathan Polosan of the Mindanao Unified Martial Artists will now become the main event.
Bullos, who hails from Lapu-Lapu City, has an MMA fight record of six wins without a loss, while Polosan of Cagayan de Oro City also has an immaculate win-loss record of 7-0. (JAF)
