"No Mercy"

• Twitter: @MercitoGesta  Facebook.com/MercitoGesta mercito-gesta.com
• Ranked IBF #5 at 135 pounds…
• Former WBO Youth lightweight champion…

At the age of 24, Mercito is an eight-year pro – he made his debut at 16 in the Philippines. A prospect at 135 pounds, he has won 16 fights in a row since having a technical draw in November, 2005.

He is coming off a ninth-round TKO win against Ty Barnett in his last fight on August 3.

After the fight, Dan Rafael wrote on ESPN.com [excerpts]: Gesta, a native of the Philippines living in San Diego, notched a nice win against Barnett, who was in tremendous condition. Gesta is a good fighter who can please the crowd and still can get better. Headlining ESPN2's "Friday Night Fights," Gesta eventually broke him down. He got Barnett's attention in the first couple of rounds by landing wide open left hands until Barnett settled into a bit of rhythm.

There were some exciting moments of back-and-forth action throughout the fight. In the fifth round, Gesta seriously rocked Barnett with a series of blows. His legs went to jelly for a moment, he staggered backward and had to fend of Gesta's aggressive attack for the rest of the round.

Gesta seemed like he was on his way to a 10-round decision win before ending matters in the ninth round. He caught Barnett with two straight left hands that messed up his legs and then unloaded seven shots, including a clean uppercut, that dropped Barnett. He made it to his feet and referee Jay Nady allowed the fight to continue but only until Gesta landed a right and a left that dropped Barnett hard just as the bell ending the round sounded. Barnett made it to his feet again but his legs were gone and Nady properly called it off. This is a good win for Gesta…. [End Rafael item]

Mercito said, "There's a lot of gyms here in San Diego. Sometimes I train at the Alliance Gym, and there's Black House Gym, and now we just started a new private gym here in National City. There's another gym I go to for sparring, too - Undisputed Gym - and sometimes we invite people to our gym or Alliance for sparring.

"I would describe myself – I adapt to the style of my opponent, how to fight the guy. I can be like a puncher or a boxer, it depends on my opponent.

"A lot of fighters try to intimidate me, but that's not going to work for me. I'm just going to go there and fight and if there's a knockout, try to knock him out."

Regarding his nickname, he said, "It was given to me by my team around my 10th or 11^th fight. It kind of rhymes with my name, too, so I was like, "I'm cool with that."

Fight by Fight – 2012 - in his last fight on 8-3-12 in Las Vegas, NV, he TKOd Ty Barnett (20-2-1): the bout headlined at Texas Station Casino, and Mercito dominated most of the fight; he rocked Barnett in the 1^st and 2^nd rounds, but Barnett came back and boxed well in the following rounds; Mercito rallied again and staggered him with a left hand in the 5^th round, then rocked him with another left hand in the 7^th round; Mercito scored two knockdowns late in the 9^th round – the first with a series of punches, the second with a left hand - and the referee stopped the fight at 2:59…

On 4-14-12 in Las Vegas he TKOd Oscar Cuero (15-7): the bout was one of the co-features with the Brandon Rios-Richard Abril main event, and Mercito dominated - he consistently outworked Cuero, landed the harder punches, and steadily wore him down; Cuero was penalized one point for holding in the 5^th round; Mercito scored a knockdown with a right hook to the body in the 7^th round; he scored another knockdown with a right hook in the 8^th – Cuero got up but was unsteady, and the referee stopped the fight at 1:38…

2011 - on 11-11-11 in Las Vegas he won a 10 round unanimous decision against Ricardo Dominguez (34-7-2): the fight was co-featured with the Diego Magdaleno-Emmanuel Lucero main event, and Mercito dominated; he scored a knockdown with a left hand in the 3^rd round, and consistently outboxed and outworked Dominguez; scored 98-91, 99-92, 97-92…

On 9-17-11 in Parker, AZ, he won a 10 round unanimous decision against Manuel Perez (16-6-1): the bout headlined at BlueWater Resort & Casino; Mercito was cut over both of his eyes by head clashes, but dominated the fight; he pressed forward, consistently outworked Perez, and landed the sharper punches; scored 98-92, 98-92, 99-91…

On 7-9-11 in Carson, CA, he knocked out Jorge Pimentel (23-11): the fight was on the undercard of the Brandon Rios-Urbano Antillon main event, and Mercito quickly overpowered him; Mercito scored a knockdown in the 1^st round, then scored another knockdown in the 2^nd; he scored another knockdown in the 3^rd round, and Pimentel was counted out at 2:23…

On 2-18-11 in San Francisco, CA, he TKOd Genaro Trazcanos (22-13-1): this rematch was co-featured at Longshoremen’s Hall, and Mercito dominated; he rocked Trazcanos repeatedly in the 1^st and 2^nd rounds; he staggered Trazcanos with a left uppercut in the 3^rd round, then rocked him with a series of punches, and Trazcanos did not continue after the round…

2010 – on 10-22-10 in San Diego, CA, he knocked out Ivan Valle (29-10-3): Mercito scored two knockdowns in the 1^st round, and stopped Valle at 0:26 of the 2^nd round…

On 8-20-10 in Tucson, AZ, he knocked out Genaro Trazcanos (22-11-1): at 0:53 of the 7^th round…

On 6-4-10 in Tampa, FL, he TKOd Oscar Meza (19-3): Mercito scored a knockdown with a body punch in the 4^th round, and the referee stopped the fight at 3:00…

On 2-25-10 in San Diego he won an 8 round unanimous decision against Cristian Favela (25-24-6): scored 80-72 on all three scorecards…

2009 – on 7-10-09 in San Diego he TKOd Devaris Crayton (6-5-1): at 1:13 of the 3^rd round…

On 5-21-09 in San Diego he knocked out Alain Hernandez (14-6-2): at 0:44 of the 1^st round…

2008 – on 11-7-08 in Tucson he won a 10 round unanimous decision against Cristian Favela (24-16-6): scored 79-73, 79-73, 79-71…

On 4-18-08 in Tucson he knocked out Benito Zepeda (5-4-2): at 1:47 of the 1^st round…

2007 – on 10-4-07 in Las Vegas, NV, he TKOd Carlos Vinan (7-4-3): at 1:20 of the 4^th round…

On 8-4-07 in Rosemont, IL, he won a 6 round majority decision against Carlos Madrid (8-3-2): scored 58-56, 58-56, 57-57…

2005 – on 12-16-05 in N. Cotabato, PH, he won a technical decision against Lee Escobido (35-54-3): in the 7^th round…

On 11-5-05 in Manila, PH, he had a technical draw against Rey Llagas (58-28-2): Mercito was cut on his eyelid by an accidental clash of heads in the 2^nd round, and the fight was stopped on the cut…

On 9-24-05 in Manila he won a 10 round unanimous decision against Alex Guevarra (16-7)…

On 6-12-05 in Liloan, PH, he knocked out Roldan Malinao (5-9): in the 2^nd round…

On 4-2-05 in Mantilupa, PH, he won a 8 round unanimous decision against Chris Dujali (2-4)…

2004 - on 12-10-04 in Manila he TKOd Roy Picardal (3-3): in the 5^th round…

On 5-21-04 in Manila he won a 6 round unanimous decision against Sherwin Dagohoy (2-1-1)…

On 4-18-04 in Cebu, PH, he won a 6 round majority decision against Sherwin Dagohoy (2-0-1)…

On 3-25-04 in Taguig, PH, he won a 4 round majority decision against Rene Nival (2-3)…

On 2-7-04 in Taguig he TKOd Terry Tayao (debut): in the 1^st round…

He debuted at the age of 16 on 10-19-03 in Taguig and won a 4 round unanimous decision against Roy Picardal (debut)…

AMATEUR, PERSONAL BACKGROUND: Mercito said, "I was born in Mandaue City, Philippines. I've got one older sister and one younger brother – I'm in the middle. My dad is a truck driver and my mom, she just stayed home to watch us kids. My dad used to be an amateur boxer when he was a kid. When he grew up, he moved to professional kickboxing and Muay Thai.

"I actually started in Muay Thai and kickboxing when I was five or six before I went to boxing. My dad was fighting as a pro at that time, and he started training me. I started righthanded until I was about nine or 10, and then my dad changed my style to southpaw. He said there’s not that many southpaws out there. It was kind of hard at first, but we practiced and practiced. When I turned pro - I was 16 - I was already southpaw.

"I think I had five or six amateur fights in Muay Thai. I had no amateur boxing fights.

"I moved to the U.S. in November, 2006. I came to Los Angeles to box, and started out on my own. First, I was training at the Wild Card Gym. I went to Las Vegas to training camp, then back to L.A., then I moved to San Diego, I think, in the middle of ‘07. That's when I met Vince Parra. Now my dad is here – I brought him here. Hopefully my whole family will come here, too.

"I didn't speak English when I first moved here, but I learned – it's so hard! I'm single, no kids."…

From Maxboxing.com, by Ryan Maquiñana (Feb. 3, 2011, excerpts]: Similarities to Pacquiao abound; make no mistake. A flashy tattoo adorns his right shoulder and chest. The lightweight prospect has made it clear that while he’s proud of his roots in Cebu, and as low-key and humble as the “Pac-Man” as can be, the visual eccentricities in Gesta’s personality distinguish him from the world’s most famous Pinoy.

“Manny is the one who opened the doors for Filipino fighters,” said Gesta…. “That’s why the promoters are interested in us now. He’s helped us a lot.

“For me, I try to observe my opponent and see the best way to beat them,” said Gesta. “I don’t like fighting just one style because the opponent will be able to study me. I kind of like the right hook. It works for me. Sometimes it’s actually stronger than my left.”

Gesta’s story begins in his hometown of Mandaue City in the province of Cebu, where his father introduced him to every combat sport but boxing.

“My dad, Anecito, was a professional Muay Thai and MMA fighter in the Philippines but he used to box amateurs when he was a kid,” recalled Gesta. “I trained in Muay Thai at first but I saw that boxing pays more and it’s more popular. I was 15 and I went to a gym in Liloan, Cebu, to train and I did well, so my dad let me box.”

Without the memory bank of an amateur career to fall back upon, Gesta turned pro only one week after his 16^th birthday….

“As soon as I hit 16, I had my first pro fight. I didn’t have any amateur boxing experience but I had a great coach in Coach Carl and he helped me learn fast.”

He was a quick study, going 9-0-1 over the next two years under the tutelage of Carlos Peñalosa, brother of former two-weight world champion Gerry Peñalosa.

By then, Manny-Mania had overtaken America and the sudden demand for Filipino fighters from the Pacific Rim had spiked to record levels.

The new surroundings initially made Gesta feel like a fish out of water but he acclimated himself to the environment and realized it was closer to home than he imagined.

“I love it here now,” says the current resident of San Diego. “It’s not crowded. The weather’s nice and it’s peaceful, so I wanted to stay. It was kind of hard to adapt at first because I didn’t have that much friends but when I started fighting and people started knowing me, I met people who spoke [the Filipino dialect] Bisaya and with the large Filipino population here, they started to support me.”

He realized that there was one thing he did miss. “I wish they had the barbecue chicken on a stick they sell on the side of the street in the Philippines,” Gesta slightly lamented. “Here in San Diego, they have Filipino restaurants but the only thing they don’t have is the barbecue. If I get enough money one day, maybe I’ll open a place here. But I like it here.” [End Maquiñana item]

STRENGTHS: A lefthander with good skills and movement…has good punching power…a sharp, accurate puncher and good body puncher…

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE: 9 years, 2 months... 27 fights…144 total rounds…

AVERAGE LENGTH OF BOUTS: 5.3 rounds…

KNOCKOUT PERCENTAGE: 53 %...

DISTANCE FIGHTS: 10 rounds – 3 (3-0)…9 rounds – 1 (1-0)…8 rounds – 3 (3-0)…