TOP LIGHTWEIGHT prospect Mercito “No Mercy” Gesta of Labogon, Mandaue City will fight Francisco “El Ahogado” Lorenzo of the Dominican Republic on July 9 (U.S. West Coast Time) at the Home Depot Center in Carson, California, USA.
This will be Gesta’s first bout since he signed a promotional contract with Bob Arum’s Top Rank Promotions.
The 23-year-old Filipino southpaw, who has a record of 21-0-1 (win-loss-draw) with 11 knockout wins, has been training at the Wild Card gym and sparring with WBA lt.welterweight champ Amir Khan.
Lorenzo (36-10-0, 10 KOs) is an aging warrior at 39 years old but has faced top-notch opposition including Erik “El Terrible” Morales, Jorge Linares and Nate Campbell.
Lorenzo lost in his attempt to win the WBC superfeatherweight world title in 2008 against Humberto Soto of Mexico by unanimous decision.
The Gesta-Lorenzo fight will be in the undercard of the WBA lightweight title bout between defending champion Brandon Rios and Urbano Antillon. Correspondent Rene Bonsubre