San Francisco, CA. - Despite being held only a day earlier than the anticipated fight between Nonito Donaire Jr. and Fernando Montiel, the 'War At the Wharf' was well attended and many Filipino boxing fans came to show support by carrying signs and donning Gesta's T-Shirts.
The amount of people in the crowd was a testament to the amount of hard work Don Chargin's crew put into promoting this fight as well as Gesta's rising popularity. I should also mention that Gesta and his team are also doing all the right things in terms of trying to expose Gesta to a wider audience.
Gesta is very visible in the community specially in San Diego and can often be seen in numerous events such as fiestas. As a result, a number of Filipinos including those who might not necessarily be boxing fans are well aware of him. What helps Gesta even more is his humble personality and seemingly approachable demeanor, which makes it easier for fans to support him.
In his fight against, Genaro Trazancos, a journeyman fighter from Mexico, Gesta dominated the fight from the very beginning, From the first round, his advantages in strenght, speed and technical skills quickly became obvious as he consistently landed jabs and combinations. In fact, he already had his opponent bleeding from the nose by the first round.
In the second round, Gesta dominated even more by consistently landing combinations. Gesta also showing his maturity as a fighter by utilizing different types of combinations and mixing a good number of body shots in his combinations. It is clear that Trazancos is overmatched as he has been staggered at least three times as Gesta is landing at will. A round reminiscent of Pacquiao's dominating 9th round against Cotto.
The third round was basically a repeat of the previous round. Even Gesta looked tired of beating him up, but give his opponent credit as he never went down and fought until the last few seconds of every round. But Trazancos had a look of bewilderment after the round and a stoppage seemed imminent.
The fight was stopped wisely by the ring physician after the third round, which drew the ire of the crowd, but it was the right decision because Trazancos had no chance of beating Gesta and can only inflict more damage to himself by continuing to fight.
In the locker room, Gesta was all smile and very ecstatic about his team, but also showed amazement at his opponents ability to take punches. He also thanked the fans for showing support.
Now according to Gesta, he wants to fight Vincent Escobedo, a tough and sturdy veteran with good power, who has been inside the ring with fighters such as Robert Guerrero, Michael Katsidis and Kevin Kelley. Escobedo will definitely provide a big test for Gesta as Escobedo will likely provide the former much needed rounds.
Gesta is definitely one of the best prospects in the sport and if his team brings him along slowly while pitting him against the right opponents who can further enhance his skills and ring IQ, he will go far and become a world champion.
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