by Neil Macasadia | Sep 16, 2012 | Mercito Gesta Articles
By Chris Williams:
Photo Credit: Gerald Labrador
Source Doc: http://www.boxingnews24.com/2012/09/arum-wants-mercito-gesta-vs-miguel-vazquez-on-pacquiao-marquez-4-undercard-on-december-8th/
Top Rank promoter Bob Arum is hoping to match IBF lightweight champion Miguel Vazquez (31-3, 13 KO’s) against his fighter unbeaten lightweight contender Mercito Gesta (26-0-1, 14 KO’s) on the undercard of the Manny Pacquiao vs. Juan Manuel Marquez 4 fight on December 8th at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Arum told Philboxing.com “We hope to have Gesta against Vazquez.”
Before that fight can take place, however, the 25-year-old Vazquez has to defend his title against his mandatory challenger Marvin Quintero in October. That’s cutting it close for Vazquez to be taking on a tough opponent like Quintero and then coming back two months later to face Gesta. It might not be possible.
Arum has a back up plan just in case Vazquez can’t take the December 8th fight against Gesta. Arum will then look to put together a fight between Hernan Marquez vs. Brian Viloria in a Mexico vs. the Philippines match-up to go along with the main event between Juan Manuel Marquez from Mexico against the Filipino Pacquiao.
To be honest, I don’t think these kinds of rivalries are necessary. Arum is better off just trying to find some good fighters and put them in with each instead of focusing on country rivalries involving less than huge stars. Arum needs to find someone that resonates with the United States boxing public, and I don’t see Viloria or Hernan Marquez as being guys that casual boxing fans are dying to see.
I don’t think casual boxing fans even know who these are. Arum needs to be focusing on landing some well known fighters, and preferably guys that are evenly matched. Tonight’s Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. vs. Sergio Martinez has a terrible undercard filled with both mismatches and obscure fighters. Arum should have done better than this, because it’s an awful card once you get past the main event.
by Neil Macasadia | Sep 15, 2012 | Mercito Gesta Articles
By Rich Mazo
Photo Credit: Anecito Gesta
Source Doc: http://philboxing.com/news/story-75057.html
Las Vegas, NV – Bob Arum wants to put added flavor on the fourth fight of Filipino boxing superstar Manny Pacquiao and Mexican great Juan Manuel Marquez on December 8th.
The CEO of Top Rank Promotions is planning to pit another Filipino fighter against a Mexican pugilist in the MGM Grand Arena that night thereby adding rivalry between the two boxing crazy nations.
“We hope to have (Mercito) Gesta against (Miguel) Vasquez. “said Arum.
The undefeated Gesta is slowly climbing up the rankings in the lightweight division after scoring two successive knockout victories this year making him a popular name amongst the Filipino boxing fans.
Vasquez who hails from Guadalajara, Jalisco Mexico meantime is the holder of the IBF lightweight champion for the last two years and his belt is a target for Gesta.
But Vasquez has to fulfill his mandatory bout first against challenger Marvin Quintero. Arum hopes that the fight between the two can be done in the soonest possible time so that Vasquez if victorious can be ready for Gesta in December.
“We are trying to make sure that it takes place by the end of September or the beginning of October.” Arum states.
Quintero’s promoter Gary Shaw informed Philboxing that a purse bid for the Chavez vs. Quintero is scheduled to take place on September 18th in the IBF offices in New Jersey.
“Whoever wins that purse bid will have the fight.” Shaw said. The promoter stated that the fight is planned for October 27th. If his promotion wins the purse bid, Shaw intends to put the fight Stateside and on HBO of which he has an allotted spot. But if Zanfer Promotions who handles Vasquez wins it, the promoter believes that the fight will be held in Mexico.
Shaw thinks that Arum is “running ahead” when this writer informed him of the planned Vasquez versus Gesta fight on December.
“He (Arum) better take a step back and wait until Quintero fights.” Shaw stated.
But Arum has a Plan B in case the Vasquez versus Gesta fight does not materialize.
“If we can’t make that fight, we’ll have to maybe do another Mexican-Filipino fight, maybe (Hernan) Tyson Marquez against (Brian) Viloria.
WBA Flyweight Champion Hernan Marquez and Brian Viloria who holds the WBO Flyweight belt were supposed to fight on September 29th in California, but the fight was postponed due to issues regarding venue and television network coverage. The unification bout between the two is still in limbo as of press time.
Arum intends to finalize one of those fights to add spark to the foreseen rivalry that will take place that night in Las Vegas.
“One of those fights will be in the undercard.” assured Arum.
by Neil Macasadia | Sep 12, 2012 | Mercito Gesta Articles
BY: DENNIS ‘D SOURCE’ GUILLERMO
Photo Credit: dSource
Here’s some friendly and free advice for Bob Arum and Top Rank if they truly intend to promote a fourth installment of Manny Pacquiao versus Juan Manuel Marquez: Stack the card with top Filipino boxers fighting top Mexicans.
It’s that simple.
First of all, apart from Mexican boxing fans, the fundamental fact is that nobody is really asking for Pacquiao-Marquez 4. One might argue, “well, nobody asked for Pacquiao vs. Margarito either.” That much is true, but at the time, Pacquiao still had the momentum from his big wins against Dela Hoya, Hatton, and Cotto, so fans were were just eager to see Pacquiao in the ring again.
But during fight night, I observed that the venue (Jerry Jones’ New Cowboys Stadium in Dallas) was at least filled with 70% Mexicans. Obviously, the boxing-crazy Mexican fans would still pay to see one of their own beat the snot out of Pacquiao, who has tormented many of their best guns.
So how do you get the rest of the world excited about a potential Pacquiao vs. Marquez 4? Stack the card. And for all the junk Pacquiao cards and fights Top Rank and Arum have shoved up Pacquiao’s maniacal Filipino fans’ cracks instead of giving them the fights they truly wanted, what’s asking for a little “lube” this time around in the form of seeing some of their own top guys in the undercard? Arum has money to provide lube; if you’re letting the greedy bastard screw you over and over, at least demand it.
Here’s the quick version of it (longer more elaborate version to follow): Arum calls Zanfer chum Fernando Beltran, Orion Sports’ Allan Tremblay and ALA Promotions’ Michael Aldeguer and voila. Pacquiao vs Marquez 4 will headline a card that will feature Mercito Gesta going up against Miguel Vazquez for his belt; Brian Viloria vs. Hernan “Tyson” Marquez title unification bout; Ana Julaton challenging Jackie Nava for her belt; Milan Melindo debuting in the US, and Boom-Boom Bautista returning for redemption (his KO loss to Ponce De Leon was the lone loss by the Philippines in the World Cup of Boxing: Philippines vs. Mexico back in 2008).
Boom!
Gotta go! We’ll continue this later.
by Neil Macasadia | Sep 10, 2012 | Mercito Gesta Articles
By Chris Robinson
Photo Credit: Neil Macasadia
Source Doc: http://www.examiner.com/article/manny-pacquiao-s-indecisions-temporarily-holding-up-mercito-gesta-s-plans
A new week is nearly upon us and still no word on who Manny Pacquiao will be fighting if he chooses to step inside the squared circle this year.
Pacquiao was originally scheduled for a November 10th assignment at the MGM Grand but the date would eventually shift to December 8th after a suitable opponent wasn’t selected from the list of Juan Manuel Marquez, Timothy Bradley, and Miguel Cotto.
With Cotto having announced that he will be returning to face WBA junior middleweight champion Austin Trout at Madison Square Garden on December 1st, that leaves Marquez and Bradley, Pacquiao’s last two opponents, left to choose from.
While a fight with Bradley appears to be of little interest to promoter Bob Arum because of its lack of appeal to the general public, Pacquiao is reportedly less than enthused about facing Marquez for a fourth time, as each of their first three affairs were life and death thrillers that could have gone either way.
And as Pacquiao mulls over his options, so too have several fighters seen their plans altered.
Budding lightweight contender Mercito Gesta from Mandaue City in the Philippines, a month removed from a rousing 9th round stoppage over Washington, D.C. fighter Ty Barnett, was originally looking at an undercard appearance on the proposed November 10th card with hopes of seeing IBF champion Miguel Vazquez in the opposite corner.
Catching up with Gesta’s trainer and co-manager Vince Parra on Sunday evening, I got a better of understanding of why those plans have changed.
“After the [Barnett] fight, Bob [Arum] has wanted to put us in with Vazquez,” Parra said. “It’s something we accepted and I think even Vazquez accepted. The only thing is, he has a mandatory, [Marvin] Quintero. He hasn’t defended his title in almost a year and he can’t get out of it.”
Parra added that Gary Shaw was looking to stage Vazquez-Quintero on September 29th but that the fight may now be pushed back to the end of October or sometime else.
Despite the disappointment of seeing a title shot slip away, Parra was initially optimistic about Gesta’s next ring outing, but now that enthusiasm has been dampened slightly as Gesta and his team wait for Pacquiao’s next move.
A Vazquez-Gesta match would have worked well on a Pacquiao-Marquez IV card, as Arum was interested in lining up a show featuring Filipino vs. Mexican fighters. But with rumors circulating that Pacquiao might prefer sitting out 2012 in order to secure a spring date with Floyd MayweatherJr., nothing seems certain at this point.
“I don’t want to say we’re in limbo,” Parra added. “We’re just going with the flow.”
If anything, Parra did add that Gesta is still in great spirits, especially after seeing his mother and little brother arrive to his adopted hometown of San Diego as he continues to wait for word on his next move.
Expect more on Gesta in the coming days.
by Neil Macasadia | Sep 4, 2012 | Mercito Gesta Articles
By Erik Aguilar
Photo by: Duenas Aris
Bell, California – IBF lightweight champion Miguel “El Titere” Vazquez (31-3, 13Ko’s), has been guaranteed a date to face Filipino up and comer Mercita “No Mercy” Gesta (26-0-1, 14Ko’s) on the under card of the unofficially announced Manny Pacquiao vs Juan Manuel Marquez 4, on December 8. All Vazquez has to do is to successfully get through his September 29th fight against Marvin Quintero (25-3, 21Ko’s) in Mexico.
“They have guaranteed me the fight against Gesta on the Pacquiao vs Marquez 4 under card on December 8, if i beat Quintero. It’s a fight that I have wanted.” – Miguel Vazquez
When asked by myself who he would want to fight out of any lightweight, Vasquez had this to say:
“A lot of fighters will win a fight, and call out other champions, but they will never mention my name. I’m the IBF champion, yet no one wants to face me for my title. They make the excuse that my name doesn’t generate a crowd. It’s all a bunch of excuses so they don’t have to face me, because they are scared to lose. Out of everyone in the lightweight division, I would love to face Adrien Broner. Broner has a big mouth, and I’d love to shut it up.”– Miguel Vazquez
Source Doc: http://thekoncretejungle.com/2012/09/03/ibf-lightweight-champ-vazquez-to-face-gesta-wants-to-shut-adrien-broner-up/#more-3496
by Neil Macasadia | Aug 23, 2012 | Mercito Gesta Articles
By Ryan Songalia
Photo Credit: Gerald Labrador
Source Doc: http://m.ringtv.craveonline.com/blog/174417-gestas-manager-says-vazquez-title-shot-is-next
The manger Mercito Gesta says the rising lightweight prospect’s promoter Top Rank is working on making a title shot against IBF lightweight beltholder Miguel Vazquez.
The manger Mercito Gesta says the rising lightweight prospect’s promoter Top Rank is working on making a title shot against IBF lightweight beltholder Miguel Vazquez.
Vincent Parra, who also trains Gesta (26-0-1, 14 knockouts), of San Diego, Calif. by way of Mandaue City, Philippines, says he has spoken with Top Rank CEO Bob Arum about putting him in with Vazquez (31-3, 13 KOs), of Jalisco, Mexico, in what would be Gesta’s first title shot.
“They’re working on it,” said Parra. “Bob told me a couple days ago he’s making the fight. I’m told we will have something by the week’s end.”
Parra says they had discussed the dates of November 3, 10 and 17.
A matchmaker with Top Rank says “nothing is for sure” but that he hears November 10 is the date being discussed. An email to Vazquez’s co-manager Richard Mota was not returned.
Vazquez, 25, has made three defenses of the title he won by defeating Ji-Hoon Kim by unanimous decision in 2010. Interestingly enough, his only defeats have come in two decisions to current WBC junior middleweight titleholder Saul “Canelo” Alvarez and WBO welterweight titleholder Timothy Bradley.
In his last bout two months ago, Vazquez decisioned Daniel Attah in a non-title match. Vazquez is rated no. 2 by THE RING at 135 pounds.
Gesta, 24, is coming off a ninth round technical knockout of Ty Barnett earlier this month in his first showcase on ESPN2’s Friday Night Fights. The southpaw is rated no. 8 by the IBF.
“I believe Mercito can get him out of his comfort zone and make him trade,” said Parra, analyzing the proposed fight. “The speed is going to give him problems. I’m confident Mercito can dominate and maybe even stop him.”
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