LINARES-GESTA
But with Linares, you just never know for sure, writes Elliot Worsell
The WBA lightweight king prepares to face an unheralded challenger
IT FIGURES TO BE NOT TOO DISSIMILAR TO A SPARRING SESSION
THE only thing better than a Jorge Linares training video, of which there are many, is a Jorge Linares fight, and the only thing better than a Jorge Linares fight is a Jorge Linares fight against one of the very best lightweights in the world.
This Saturday ( January 27) in Inglewood, California, we get something in between. The fight against Mercito
“No Mercy” Gesta is preferable to a training video, but, admittedly, falls some way short of telling us whether the world’s best lightweight is Jorge Linares, Mikey Garcia or Robert Easter Jnr.
For Linares, this will be the third defence of the WBA world lightweight title he ripped from Anthony Crolla in Manchester in September 2016. It will also be his 13th world title fight. For Gesta, meanwhile, it represents just his second.
That, in a nutshell, sets the scene. It’s a fight that should, stylistically, be what every other Jorge Linares outing tends to be: easy on the eye, a work of art, straightforward. Yet it’s also a fight that, realistically, figures to be not too dissimilar to a training session, a sparring session, one in which Linares, the superior technician and more seasoned operator, has ample time and space to paint one of his pretty pictures on Gesta and retain his lightweight title. At least in theory. Linares, it’s worth remembering, is a fighter for whom Sergio Thompson, Antonio Demarco and Juan Carlos Salgado were considered opponents he was supposed to beat. Yet he lost to all three.
The gifted Venezuelan has been known to drift from the sublime to the ridiculous, often in the same fight, and it’s this unpredictability, this vulnerability, that makes him so watchable. (Well, that and the fact his skills are essentially plucked straight from a how-to manual.) At 32,
though, he seems wise, aware of his flaws, and has polished his style to the tune of a 12-fight unbeaten run that includes the scalps of British boxers Luke Campbell, Crolla (twice) and Kevin Mitchell, all of whom walked away from Linares with a defeat and some homework.
The champion’s next challenger, Gesta, from Cebu, Philippines, is the polar opposite to Linares in that he turned professional in October 2003 having had not a single amateur bout. Back then he wasn’t so much raw as clueless. His background was Muay-thai kickboxing, something his father, Anecito, did to a professional level, and Mercito’s style, like many who cross these codes, bore all the hallmarks of having once kicked and checked kicks. Upright, rigid and hittable, he was also, on the flipside, notably composed in the ring, a sign of someone not averse to combat, and extraordinarily tough.
In 2012, Gesta suffered the first and only defeat of his pro career when he allowed Miguel Vasquez to poke and prod his way to a lopsided decision in Las Vegas. Vasquez, on the move, changing direction in a manner that befuddled Gesta, simply outboxed his challenger for every minute of every round and braced himself for an onslaught that never came.
Gesta, it seemed, was stuck in the mud, unable to move his feet. His legs were heavy. His mind was blank. He swung occasionally, more in hope than anything, but rarely came close to landing a meaningful punch. Instead, he dropped his hands, attempted to rile Vasquez and instigate an exchange, but was resigned to his fate, a beaten man long before the formalities were read to him.
Since then, Gesta’s biggest issue has been inactivity. He has boxed just six times in five years and took 2013 and 2016 off completely. He was also held to a draw by Carlos Molina in 2015. Improved or not, two fights in two years is hardly ideal when preparing to face a champion like Linares.
In terms of style, Gesta maintains an aggressive stance, looking to incite action, but his natural inclination is to counterpunch. He throws with his opponent, hoping to capitalise on openings in the form of quick one-twos. He’s also a southpaw, though hardly one of the awkward variety, so keen is he to engage, so prone is he to attacking square on. What’s more, the way Gesta fights, patient and then suddenly explosive, would suggest he can punch a bit, yet 17 stoppages from 31 career wins argues this point.
Then again, Linares, 43-3 (27), was oblivious to the danger of Demarco, Thompson and Salgado, and look what happened there. History proves he can be hit and can be hurt. That’s the beauty of this fight. The beauty of every Linares fight, in fact.
Gesta, moreover, for all his limitations, is backed by Freddie Roach, his trainer, and less of the flat-footed plodder he was circa-2012. There’s now more of a bounce to his style. He moves his head. Best of all, he seems happier to let his hands go and fight with an urgency he once lacked.
Whether any of this unsettles Jorge Linares, let alone dethrones him, remains to be seen. Yet, as with any Linares opponent, Gesta, 31-1-2 (17), presumably goes into the title challenge knowing the champion, for all his dazzling brilliance, has come undone against inferior operators in the past and, though now matured and seemingly at the peak of his powers, is perhaps still primed for one more disaster.
For a man like Gesta, someone who idolises Manny Pacquiao and Nonito Donaire, this hope is probably enough. Enough to get him pumped. Enough to keep him throwing. Enough to fuel his ambition. What it won’t be, however, is enough to actually conquer Linares, who should be able to chip away at the Filipino round after round, copying the Vasquez blueprint only with more elegance, and dance his way to a wide decision.
THE VERDICT Linares often courts danger but should emerge unscathed.
GESA IS KEEN TO ENGAGE, AND PRONE TO ATTACKING SQUARE ON