It had been four years since undefeated WBO NABO youth lightweight champion Mercito “No Mercy” Gesta (20-0-1, 10KOs) had enjoyed the company of his family, friends and the feeling of his native land of Mandaue City, Cebu, Philippines, beneath his feet. Since coming to the United States in 2006, Gesta has been hard at work in the quest to transform his dream of becoming a world champion into reality and after a well deserved vacation in his homeland which he is enjoying as we speak, Mercito will return to his adopted home of San Diego, CA., in January to a 2011 that is shaping up to be a good one with marquee adversaries on deck , the kind of opponents that could turn Gesta into a household name should he conquer them.
With all the excitement and curiosity surrounding the Filipino fireball, I caught up with his co-manger and trainer Vince Parra of San Diego, CA., to discuss the goings-on of his burgeoning pupil’s present and future.
Gesta’s vacation to his native locale isn’t just pleasure either as the hard working pugilist has incorporated business into the trip as well.
“He’s doing great, he started strength training the 1st of December with his dad and will begin working with coach Penalosa the 1st of January,” Parra stated. “They have actually already started working together and have been in the process the last three weeks.”
Mercito has already relayed his interest in possible showdowns with the lightweight division’s top dogs like Australian slugger Michael Katsidis and has his eyes on the division’s other gems as well.
“Merc will be back mid-February and anything is possible for his next fight. There have been some interesting offers thrown out there but I don’t really want to talk about it right now as they are still real loose but we’d like to get Vincente Escobedo or Jose Alfaro,” intoned Parra.
Both of those men are worthy contenders who come to fight and would be a sizable notch on the 23-year-old Filipino’s belt.
There have also been rumblings among the boxing fraternity that have Gesta on a collision course with the brash talking and tough Brandon Rios out of the Robert Garcia camp. Gesta and his camp let it be known in earlier interviews that they were not amused by Brandon’s well publicized mockery of their part time trainer Freddie Roach of the famed Wild Card Gym, who usually helps get Gesta ready for his scraps in the weeks leading up to just before fight night. This has sparked interest and added a storyline to a fight that already has built-in scripts such as the Filipino-Mexican rivalry and the fact that they are both undefeated and have been highly touted prospects through out their campaigns.
“Brandon Rios is a great fight and one that Mercito wants but I think we should let that fight build, Rios is a beast that doesn’t go away and for Mercito when they go at it that’s going to be one of those super-fights” Parra said of the possible match up. “It’s going to be something they both deserve to make the most that they can possibly make so why not build it you know?”
“In a fight like that, everybody wins. I mean c’mon a guy named ‘Bam Bam’ versus a guy named ‘No Mercy’? Forget about it! Right now Rios is going to go after Soto and we would still like to fight Katsidis if that is possible so we will just have to see what happens but in February we are looking at, well in the best case Merc would like to fight Escobedo and if not that then maybe Jose Alfaro or even Rocky Juarez”.
Despite the names being thrown out, no promoter is readily willing to put their young prospects or even proven veterans against the lighting quick southpaw.
“You know it just depends, we will put out offers because nobody is really calling out Mercito so we just have to keep moving forward. It’s not like we’re talking smack or anything we just know he’s going to be that good and I will go on the record as saying Mercito Gesta will be world champion in 2011 and if we have to leave home to get it and bring it back, then that’s what we’ll do,” continued the former pro boxer and current up and coming trainer.
I brought up the subject of “No Mercy’s” hand speed as I believe Mercito possesses some of, if not, the quickest hands in the 135lb division and Parra assessed, “I think there are different types of speed, a lot of it is speed and a lot of it is timing and there are a lot of fast guys at 135lbs. Henry Lundy is a fast guy, very quick, but as far as quickness goes, Mercito is definitely up there in the top three or four guys, maybe even in the world and a lot of that has to do with Mercito’s timing. I am not going to say he is the fastest at 135lbs but if he is not the fastest, he is certainly up there with the top two or three guys and he is bringing the power with it now.”
“No Mercy” had a sizzling 2010 and has began to put the boxing community on notice revealing what many Filipinos and San Diegans already know, Gesta can scrap. To start off the year Mercito easily out-boxed journeyman Cristian Favela in February, punished Oscar Meza into submission to win the WBO NABO youth lightweight crown in June, knocked out Genaro Trazancos in scintillating fashion in August and steam-rolled the always tough Ivan Valle in under six minutes in October in front of his hometown admirers to close out a strong 2010 campaign.
Gesta had a slow time of it when he first arrived in the United States due to the politics of the sport and wasn’t able to scale the ladder at the pace all young talented prospects yearn for but since arriving in San Diego, Ca., co-trainer Carl Penalosa, co-manager-trainer Vince Parra and the rest of team Gesta have done a phenomenal job getting Mercito’s career on track and heading full steam ahead. Parra and the team have worked hard to put Mercito out there, getting the shy blooming Filipino in front of the camera and microphone often as well as bringing Mercito to the attention of San Diego’s Filipino community and boxing enthusiasts. Mercito has done everything asked of him outside and more importantly inside of the ring the last few years, whether it be media being shoved down his throat, getting involved in the community, training or punching people in the face.
Gesta’s support system is just as strong at home where he is now spending much needed time with his father, mother, family and friends. Gesta’s father Aniceto and mother Mercedes, which is Mercito when you put the names together, have been very involved in their son’s fighting ambitions since he was a young kid back in Labogon, Mandaue City where Aniceto, who is a Muay Thai specialist, trained Mercito to rumble in the arts of kickboxing and boxing.
“He has extraordinary power. He has been knocking out his opponents now that his body has matured,” said Aniceto in a recent interview the Gestas took part in with PhilBoxing’s Rene Bonsubre Jr. and editor Dong Secuya.
“No Mercy” possesses all the quality traits Americans and fight fans across the globe admire such as nice looks, a beaming smile from ear to ear which is always on display, he’s kind, he’s polite and he could very well be the next Filipino mega-star. This reality was not lost on the wise Mercedes Gesta as she spoke intelligently on the subject, “Manny Pacquiao has done so much to lift Filipino pride abroad. We should not sleep on this and wait for many years before we look for the next great boxing champion.”
“Things are up in the air right now and there are a lot of opportunities and Mercito is going to be in tremendous condition when he gets back January 20th and then we will head to the Wild Card Gym to finish camp,” said Parra to conclude our conversation.
I have had the pleasure of seeing Mercito fight and as I have studied the young rising star, I have seen him improve leaps and bounds under the tutelage of Vince Parra, Carl Penalosa and Vince’s father, Bumpy Parra. With the maturation of Gesta’s body, power, timing and ring experience, not to mention the confidence that comes along with routing a tough-chinned warrior like Ivan Valle inside of two rounds, the Filipino’s chances of fulfilling Parra’s prediction of a 2011 world title seem very attainable.
Here’s a perceivable, hopeful and in my eyes attainable vision for us die-hard boxing fans. Mercito Gesta attains a world title in 2011 or 2012 and commands the influence to one day bring world title fights back to the San Diego Sports Arena or even a mega-fight in San Diego’s Petco Park, imagine that? I don’t want to expend too much pressure on the young sensation but it’s nice to dream.
Who would you like to see Mercito Gesta fight in February 2011?