Mercito Gesta Decisions Joseph Diaz In Close Affair
By: Sean Crose
The main event of Saturday's DAZN card from Long Beach, California, was supposed to be a light heavyweight throwdown between Gilberto "Zurdo" Ramirez and popular veteran Gabriel Rosado. Ramirez couldn't make weight, however, and so that fight was cancelled. That proved to be good news for Joseph Diaz, 32-3-1, and Mauricio Gesta, 33-3-3, as their scheduled ten round junior welterweight affair was moved up to main event status.
Gesta had a good first, using speed, aggression and impressive footwork to outshine his man. Diaz employed pressure in the second, but Gesta's activity rate told the story of the round. Still, Diaz started landing and landing well in the third. With his opponent on the ropes, Diaz was able to do some serious work. Gesta was certainly firing back, but Diaz was clearly getting the better of it.
Both men actively traded in the fourth. Gesta put his punches together well in the fifth, while Diaz kept stalking. Gesta's movement essentially told the story of the sixth, though Diaz certainly had his moments. The seventh was close, though Diaz may have edged it through impressive aggression. Gesta remained surprisingly effective with his footwork in the eighth considering the fight was now pushing towards the final rounds. Diaz ground his way through the ninth, appearing to edge it with powerful shots. Both men let it all hang out in the tenth.
Gesta ended up winning by split decision, though the judge's cards were, as the DAZN broadcast team put it, "all over the place."
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