By Michael Marley
SAN DIEGO—About 30 minutes before he climbed into the ring here at the Sheraton Four Points Hotel for his toughest professional test, with a national TV audience looking on (Telefutura), Cebu's Mercito “No Mercy' Gesta spoke to me in his locker room.
Normally, I would not think of disturbing a fighter, especially when he is going to take on a solid veteran like Mexico's Ivan Valle (27 victories incuding 23 knockouts) so close to battle time.
But Gesta, 137 pounds, and his manager, Mexican-American with German heritage Vincent Parra, were both cool as cucumbers in the short time before the co-feature on the Golden Boy-Don Chargin & Jorge Marron promotion.
Gesta, now 20-0-1 with a sizzling 10 Kos to his credit, rapped out with me about all the pressure that goes with being as rising Pinoy southpaw and being in the giant shadow of Manny Pacquiao.
But Gesta, who has found himself in such odd places for a Filipino boxer as Atlanta, made one essential point to me.
Yes, he's a southpaw. Yes, he adores the Pacman. But his father pushed him to fight as a lefthander as he is naturally righthanded. And yes, he is ultra aggressive.
But, no the 23 year old Gesta said, he is not hawking himself as the next Megamanny, the next Filipino superhero.
So what's the quality you share with Pacquiao besides nationality, I asked.
“I am a finisher,” Gesta said quietly. “When I get an opponent hurt, I finish him off.”
No braggadocio, no strutting, no peacock walk. Just a statement of fact.
But Gesta was not just talking. Gesta went out and walked the walk, destroying Valle in two rounds and just missing by seconds stopping him in round one.
Can you say, “A star is born?”
One unabashed Gesta fan at ringside, a local named Jeffrey G. Rosete who owns an apparel company known as “Flip Squad,” was totally convinced.
“I am convinced,” Rosete said as he sat with his lovely wife. “This kid is the real deal, he can really fight.”
Lest you think that is just a pro-Pinoy point of view, I got a similar opinion from area boxing scribe, Felipe Leon.
“I have seen this guy fight five times,” Leon told me. “This fight was going to tell us a lot and it did tell us a lot.
“Getsa has been sparring with top contender Antonio DeMarco and that helped. But this was his strongest, toughest opponent and you saw how he performed. That says a lot.”
As for the spectacular winner, Gesta said he hopes for even tougher foes down the line.
“I want this kind of challenge,” Gesta said. “I thought I had him in the first round but I just ran out of time after two knockdowns. I was hurting him with nearly every punch.”
As for manager Parra, age 35, he was not surprised by the outcome.
“We were totally prepared, we thought he might get this guy in the first or second round. But when Mercito hurts an opponent, he steps it up.”
I'm not going to put a “next Pacman” label on this young prospect.
That is a too heavy and unfair burden.
But I can understand the enthusiasm.
Gesta hits them, he hurts them, he finishes them.
That's worked so well for the little guy from Gensan, why not for this aggressive Cebuano?