MERCITO ‘NO MERCY’ GESTA CAPTURES NABO LIGHTWEIGHT TITLE WITH MAJORITY DECISION
INDIO, CALIF. (June 14, 2018): *Mercito “No Mercy” Gesta* (32-2-2, 17 KOs)
of San Diego, Calif. captured the NABO Lightweight Title against *Roberto
“Tito” Manzanarez*(35-2, 28 KOs) of Phoenix, Arizona via 10-round majority
decision victory in the main event of the June 14 edition of *Golden Boy
Boxing on ESPN* at *Fantasy Springs Resort Casino *in Indio, Calif. One
judge scored the fight a 95-95 draw, which was overruled by two scores of
96-94 in Gesta’s favor.
“I feel good, though I’m surprised he moved so much,” said *Mercito Gesta.* “I
was really eager to cut the distance and hit him. My trainer Freddie
[Roach] told me I needed to land more combinations, but it’s clear that
Manzanarez is tough and can take a punch. I can’t wait for what’s next.”
“I felt I won this fight,” said *Roberto Manzanarez*. “I dominated more
rounds than Gesta. I kept him at a distance and controlled the pace. I kept
touching him with long shots. I want the rematch, but I have to check with
my team to see what’s next.”
In tonight’s co-main event, *Manny Robles III *(16-0, 8 KOs) captured the
vacant NABF Featherweight crown as he scored a ninth-round technical
knockout victory against *Edgar “Kid Neza” Valerio *(13-1, 8 KOs) in a
classic battle between two of Golden Boy Promotions’ best prospects. The
fight, which was initially scheduled for 10 rounds, was dominated early by
Robles, who used his speed and technical abilities to outbox the taller and
stronger Valerio.
In the third round, Robles landed a counter left hook that immediately
floored Valerio, who rose to his feet with renewed ferocity to even up the
score. Robles continued his dominance until the eighth round, where Valerio
landed a perfectly-timed right hook that stunned and wobbled Robles. After
taking a round to recover, Robles landed a right hand that dropped Valerio,
which he followed with a fight-finishing flurry to end matters in the ninth
round.
“This was the most important fight of my career and I took care of
business,” said *Manny Robles III. **”*[Valerio] hurt me with that right
hand because I got careless, but thanks to my conditioning I recovered
quickly. I had a great camp. I won this fight because I had a great game
plan. As you can see, we had something special up our sleeve. After a
couple more fights, I would love a world title shot.”
*Herbert “Ace” Acevedo *(15-2, 6 KOs), the latest prospect to join the
Westside Boxing Club stable, scored a six-round unanimous decision victory
against *David Thomas* (6-3-1, 2 KOs) of Orange, Texas in a super
lightweight bout. Acevedo, a native of Garden City, Kansas, dominated
Thomas in every round in a battle of toe-to-toe action.
“I hurt my right hand in the first round,” said *Herbert Acevedo.* “I
landed it right on his forehead and then I was just not able to use it. So,
I stood toe-to-toe and worked the body. I pumped my jab and boxed a bit,
but I made sure the win was clear with all the body shots.”
*Luis Feliciano *(7-0, 4 KOs) of Utuado, Puerto Rico scored a fourth-round
technical knockout victory against *Daniel Montoya *(11-7, 8 KOs) of
Tamauliopas, Mexico in a super lightweight battle initially scheduled for
eight rounds.
“I feel great. We’re taking things fight by fight,” said *Luis Feliciano. *”I’m
focused on getting better and better. We work on everything in the gym.
That body shot I landed has been something I’ve had since the amateurs. We
work on everything so that we have all the bases covered when we get to a
championship level.”
*Luis Arcon *(2-0, 2 KOs), a Venezuelan prospect who currently resides in
Indio, Calif., scored a technical knockout victory against *Ricardo
Fernandez *(3-9-4) of Ciudad Juarez, Mexico at the end of the second round
of a scheduled four-round super lightweight battle. Arcon dominated
Fernandez from the opening bell, dropping him in the first round and
punishing him so badly in second round that the corner was forced to call a
halt to the fight before the third round could begin.
“I took this fight on very short notice,” said *Luis Arcon. *”I wanted to
take advantage of this opportunity with Golden Boy Promotions, so I worked
hard and cut the weight to make the fight happen. Hopefully I can come back
again soon.”
*Gesta vs. Manzanarez *was a 10-round fight for the NABO Lightweight
Championship presented by Golden Boy Promotions. The event was sponsored by
Tecate, *”THE OFFICIAL BEER OF BOXING”* and Hennessy, *”Never Stop, Never
Settle.”* The fights took place on Thursday, June 14, 2018 at Fantasy
Springs Resort Casino.
