Sports

Mercito Gesta victorious in Golden Boy Promotions boxing event

Troubled from the start, Golden Boy Promotions’ boxing event in the Walter Pyramid lost its main event and juggled with technical issues throughout Saturday night.

Friday afternoon, the main event fighter and former WBO super middleweight champion Gilberto “Zurdo” Ramirez was pulled from the card after coming in overweight.

The fight card was rearranged with a new main event and refunds were offered to fans who had already bought tickets.

In the reworked main event Mercito “No Mercy” Gesta had his hand raised with a split decision win over Joseph “JoJo” Diaz. A majority of the crowd was cheering for Diaz and were displeased with the scorecards that wound up not in his favor. Diaz won the fight on one scorecard 97-93 but lost on the other two 99-91 and 98-92.

It was a fight with significance as Oscar De La Hoya mentioned that the winner could find a spot on the upcoming undercard for the Garcia vs. Davis fight on April 22 in Las Vegas, Nevada.

“This means a lot to me especially right now that I’m starting a new chapter in my life having a baby,” Gesta said.

In the night’s opening matchup, Patricio “Cacahuate” Manuel was making just his second professional appearance after a four-year hiatus against Hien Huynh.

03/18/2023 - Long Beach, Calif: Patricio “Cacahuate” Manuel (left) hits a right jab to opponent, Hien Huynh during the pre-lims of a Golden Boys Promotions event inside the Walter Pyramid.
03/18/2023 - Long Beach, Calif: Patricio “Cacahuate” Manuel (left) hits a right jab to opponent, Hien Huynh during the pre-lims of a Golden Boys Promotions event inside the Walter Pyramid. Photo credit: Naoki Gima

“Everyone out here you know how much I love you,” Manuel said. “Also thank you to Golden Boy Promotions as well for having my back.”

Manuel won the fight via technical decision following a head clash that stopped the action during the fourth round. Post-fight Manuel spoke in the ring but his words could hardly be made out due to distortion and echo coming from the feedback of the microphone.

The performance was followed up by a 30-second knockout from the undefeated Jorge Chavez against an outclassed Bryan Perez who lost for the 17th time in his career.

03/18/2023 - Long Beach, Calif:  Bryan Perez (right) is checked on by the referee after getting knocked out by his opponent, Jorge Chavez, and his handed the 17th loss of his career.
03/18/2023 - Long Beach, Calif: Bryan Perez (right) is checked on by the referee after getting knocked out by his opponent, Jorge Chavez, and his handed the 17th loss of his career. Photo credit: Naoki Gima

It sparked interest from the crowd heading into the main card as they saw a violent finish from Chavez who landed an overhand left followed by an uppercut and overhand right which dropped Perez to the canvas stiff.

That interest then faded during a 52-minute delay with no announcement inside of the pyramid for when the action would get back underway.

After dealing with the delay fans also had to face lines for concessions that wrapped halfway around the pyramid for the majority of the evening.

When the announcer finally returned to the ring he again had no audio leaving fans to do nothing but boo and the microphone to be tossed to the canvas as well.

One fight passed with no announcement during walkouts, before the technical difficulties were mostly dealt with and the card was able to resume in a primarily normal fashion.

In a matchup between two undefeated fighters, the mic decided to finally work as Eric Tudor and Damoni Cato-Cain had their respective names introduced.

03/18/2023 - Long Beach, Calif: Eric Tudor (white shorts) stands over his opponent Damoni Cato-Cain after stunning him during their fight inside the Walter Pyramid.
03/18/2023 - Long Beach, Calif: Eric Tudor (white shorts) stands over his opponent Damoni Cato-Cain after stunning him during their fight inside the Walter Pyramid. Photo credit: Naoki Gima

It was a competitive fight with Tudor’s face being opened up from a clash of heads in the fourth round. As blood streamed from his face he poured it on working the body with his combos before eventually winning the contest via decision to remain undefeated.

Before the main event, the fight card had a final knockout as Oscar Duarte dropped his opponent Alex Martin with an uppercut and a follow-up right hand, Martin got up but was dropped for a second time leading the referee to make the result official.

03/18/2023 - Long Beach, Calif: Oscar Duarte celebrates after beating Alex Martin inside the Walter Pyramid during a Golden Boy Promotions event.
03/18/2023 - Long Beach, Calif: Oscar Duarte celebrates after beating Alex Martin inside the Walter Pyramid during a Golden Boy Promotions event. Photo credit: Naoki Gima

There were hiccups but the event ended with two competitive bouts that had the crowd invested and making noise.

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