Photo by Chris Farina/TOP RANK
Undefeated Filipino lightweight Mercito Gesta made a sensational Top Rank debut with a three-round demolition of Mexican Jorge “El Tigre” Pimentel Sunday at the Home Depot Center in Carson, California.
The southpaw Gesta lived up to his nickname, dropping Pimentel once in each of the three rounds of the scheduled 10-round bout.
A right uppercut that dropped Pimentel for the third time forced referee Raul Caiz Jr. to step in and end the one-sided bout at 2:33 of the third.
The fight was in the undercard of the Brandon Rios-Urbano Antillon WBA lightweight title fight which Rios also won by TKO in the third round.
With the win, Gesta improved to 22-0-1 with 11 knockouts while Pimentel fell to 22-12-1 with 15 KOs.
Top Rank promoter Bob Arum, who had predicted that Gesta would be the next big name in Philippine boxing, told the Inquirer after the fight that Gesta “is going to be a superstar.”
The astute promoter said he plans to feature Gesta on a Top Rank “live” show on Fox TV in about six weeks.
“We are looking to put [Gesta] on the Dec. 3 card headlined by the Antonio Margarito-Miguel Cotto fight,” Arum said.