Who won Diaz vs Gesta?

Mercito Gesta beat Joseph ‘Jo Jo’ Diaz by split decision in their 10 round contest on Saturday 18th March 2023 at Walter Pyramid in Long Beach.

The scorecards were announced as 97-93, 91-99, 92-98 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

Joseph ‘Jo Jo’ Diaz stepped into the ring with a record of 32 wins, 3 loses and 1 draw.

Mercito Gesta made his way to the ring with a record of 33 wins, 3 loses 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 & Mercito Gesta fought out of a southpaw stance.

Diaz was arguably the less experienced fighter, having had 3 less fights, and made his debut in 2012, 9 year and 1 month later than Gesta, whose first professional fight was in 2003. He had fought 21 more professional rounds, 285 to Gesta's 264.

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 29th October 2022 by unanimous decision in their 12 round contest at Pechanga Arena, San Diego, United States.

Previous to that, he had been beaten by Devin Haney on 4th December 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 9th July 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 13th February 2021 by majority draw in their 12 round contest in their IBF World Junior Lightweight championship fight at Fantasy Springs Casino, California.

He had beat Tevin Farmer on 30th January 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 21st April 2022 by unanimous decision in their 10 round contest at Fantasy Springs Casino, California, United States.

Previous to that, he had drawn with Carlos Morales on 14th November 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 21st March 2019 by knockout in the 9th round at The Avalon, California.

Before that, he had won against Robert Manzanarez on 14th June 2018 by majority decision in their 10 round contest at Fantasy Springs Casino, Indio.

He had been beaten by Jorge Linares on 27th January 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 to this contest, Joseph ‘Jo Jo’ Diaz had last fought 5 months and 2 days ago, while Mercito Gesta's last outing had been 11 months and 10 days ago.

Diaz's last 5 fights had come over a period of 3 years, 2 months and 1 day, meaning he had been fighting on average every 7 months and 19 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, 2 months and 4 days, meaning he had been fighting on average every 1 year and 12 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 is expected to begin at 8:00 PM EST / 5:00 PM PST. The DAZN Global broadcast of the card is expected to start at 2:00 AM (BTS).

What were the odds on Diaz vs Gesta?

Joseph ‘Jo Jo’ Diaz was a 1/8 (-830) favourite going into the contest, while Mercito Gesta made his way into the ring at 5/1 (+500) with oddsmakers.