Tweet
By Jake Donovan - Mercito Gesta continues to bide his time while being groomed for a future title shot. The unbeaten southpaw kept active with a ninth round knockout of Ty Barnett in their ESPN2-televised main event Friday evening at Texas Station Casino in Las Vegas.
Gesta came in at his normal weight of 137 lb, while Barnett was slightly lighter at 135 ½ lb.
A competitive fight was never really promised on paper, but Gesta figured to get in a good night’s work against the D.C.-based veteran. He would barely get that, as Barnett was hurt on several occasions, including in the very first round as Gesta immediately went on the attack.
The pressure from the unbeaten lightweight was steady throughout the contest, but missing in the early rounds was a true sense of urgency. Gesta was content with exploiting obvious openings, rather than creating on his own. Barnett managed to box his way out of trouble as the bout approached the middle rounds, holding his own in a fourth round that was the most competitive of the fight.
Signs of a hungry fighter surfaced in round five, when Gesta badly rocked Barnett with a straight shot to the chin. Barnett managed to remain upright, but wobbled to the ropes and then to another side of the ring as his legs resembled wet spaghetti strands. The fringe contender managed to survive the round, but was in worse shape than at any other point in the fight. [Click Here To Read More]
Gesta came in at his normal weight of 137 lb, while Barnett was slightly lighter at 135 ½ lb.
A competitive fight was never really promised on paper, but Gesta figured to get in a good night’s work against the D.C.-based veteran. He would barely get that, as Barnett was hurt on several occasions, including in the very first round as Gesta immediately went on the attack.
The pressure from the unbeaten lightweight was steady throughout the contest, but missing in the early rounds was a true sense of urgency. Gesta was content with exploiting obvious openings, rather than creating on his own. Barnett managed to box his way out of trouble as the bout approached the middle rounds, holding his own in a fourth round that was the most competitive of the fight.
Signs of a hungry fighter surfaced in round five, when Gesta badly rocked Barnett with a straight shot to the chin. Barnett managed to remain upright, but wobbled to the ropes and then to another side of the ring as his legs resembled wet spaghetti strands. The fringe contender managed to survive the round, but was in worse shape than at any other point in the fight. [Click Here To Read More]
Comment