Who won Diaz vs Gesta?
Mercito Gesta beat Joseph ‘Jo Jo’ Diaz by split decision in their 10 round contest on Saturday, March 18th, 2023, at Walter Pyramid, Long Beach.
The scorecards were announced as 97-93, 99-91, 98-92 in favor of winner Mercito Gesta.
The fight was scheduled to take place over 12 rounds in the Lightweight division, which meant the weight limit was 135 pounds (9.6 stone or 61.2 kg).
The undercard featured the clash of Duarte vs Martin.
Diaz vs Gesta stats
Back in March 2023, Joseph ‘Jo Jo’ Diaz stepped into the ring with a record of 32 wins, 3 losses, and 1 draw.
Mercito Gesta made his way to the ring with a record of 33 wins, 3 losses and 3 draws.
Joseph ‘Jo Jo’ Diaz was the younger man by 5 years, at 30 years old.
Gesta had a height advantage of 1 inch over Diaz. That also extended to a 4-inch reach advantage.
Both Joseph ‘Jo Jo’ Diaz and Mercito Gesta fought out of a southpaw stance.
Diaz was arguably the less experienced fighter, having had 3 fewer fights, and made his debut in 2012, 9 years and 1 month later than Gesta, whose first professional fight was in 2003. He had fought 44 more professional rounds, totaling 314 compared to Gesta's 270.
Diaz vs Gesta form
Joseph ‘Jo Jo’ Diaz had beaten 2 of his last 5 opponents.
In his last fight before this contest, he had lost to William Zepeda on October 29, 2022, by unanimous decision in their 12 round contest at Pechanga Arena, San Diego, United States.
Prior to that, he had been beaten by Devin Haney on December 4, 2021, by unanimous decision in their WBC World Lightweight championship fight at MGM Grand, Grand Garden Arena, Nevada.
Going into that contest, he had defeated Javier Fortuna on July 9, 2021, by unanimous decision in their WBC Interim World Lightweight championship fight at Banc of California Stadium, California.
Before that, he had drawn with Shavkatdzhon Rakhimov on February 13, 2021, by majority draw in their 12 round contest in their IBF World Junior Lightweight championship fight at Fantasy Springs Casino, California.
He had beaten Tevin Farmer on January 30, 2020, by unanimous decision in their IBF World Junior Lightweight championship fight at Meridian at Island Gardens, Florida.
Mercito Gesta had beaten 2 of his last 5 opponents.
In his last fight leading up to this contest, he had won against Joel Diaz Jr on April 21, 2022, by unanimous decision in their 10 round contest at Fantasy Springs Casino, California, United States.
Prior to that, he had drawn with Carlos Morales on November 14, 2019, by technical draw in their 10 round contest at Belasco Theater, California.
Going into that contest, he had lost to Juan Antonio Rodriguez on March 21, 2019, by knockout in the 9th round at The Avalon, California.
Before that, he had won against Robert Manzanarez on June 14, 2018, by majority decision in their 10 round contest at Fantasy Springs Casino, Indio.
He had been beaten by Jorge Linares on January 27, 2018, by unanimous decision in their WBA World Lightweight and The Ring Lightweight championship fight at Forum, Inglewood.
Activity check
In terms of activity leading into the fight, Joseph ‘Jo Jo’ Diaz had been fighting more than Mercito Gesta.
Going into this contest, Joseph ‘Jo Jo’ Diaz had last fought 4 months and 17 days ago, while Mercito Gesta's last outing had been 10 months and 25 days ago.
Diaz's last 5 fights had come over a period of 3 years, 1 month and 16 days, which means he had been fighting approximately every 7 months and 16 days. In those fights, he fought a total of 60 rounds, meaning that they had lasted 12 rounds on average.
Gesta's last 5 fights had come over a period of 5 years, 1 month and 19 days, meaning he had been fighting on average every 1 year and 10 days. In those fights, he fought a total of 51 rounds, meaning that they had lasted 10.2 rounds on average.
What time did Diaz vs Gesta start?
The fighters were expected to ringwalk at around 12:00 AM EST / 9:00 PM PST at Walter Pyramid, Long Beach, United States, which was around 4:00 AM GMT in the UK.
Who broadcast Diaz vs Gesta?
The DAZN show began at 8:00 PM EST / 5:00 PM PST. The DAZN Global broadcast of the card started at 2:00 AM (GTM).
What were the odds on Diaz vs Gesta?
Joseph ‘Jo Jo’ Diaz was a 1/8 (-830) favorite going into the contest, while Mercito Gesta made his way into the ring at 5/1 (+500) with oddsmakers.
