The world champion in three different weight classes Jorge Linares entered this fight with a record of 43-3-0 (27 knockouts) and he is ranked as the No.2 lightweight in the world (currently the #1 in this division is Mikey Garcia). He suffered two consecutive defeats between 2011 and 2012, against Antonio DeMarco (=DeMarco vs Linares) and Sergio Thompson (=Linares vs Thompson), but then he has won twelve fights beating Anthony Crolla in 2016 and 2017 (=Crolla vs Linares I and Linares vs Crolla II) and Luke Campbell in his last bout (=Linares vs Campbell).
His opponent, Mercito Gesta, has an official boxing record of 31-1-2 (17 knockouts) and he entered as the No.26 in the same weight class. He lost to Miguel Vazquez in 2012 (=Vazquez vs Gesta), but since then he has collected five victories and one draw beating Gilberto Gonzalez (=Gesta vs Gonzalez) and Martin Honorio in 2017. Linares vs Gesta is valid for the WBA World lightweight title (Linares’ third defense); undercard of Lucas Matthysse vs Tewa Kiram. Watch the video and rate this fight!
Date: 2018-01-27
Where: Forum, Inglewood, California, USA
Division: lightweight (135 lbs, 61.2 kg)
Title: WBA World lightweight title
Linares’ previous fight: Jorge Linares vs Luke Campbell
Linares’ next fight: Jorge Linares vs Vasyl Lomachenko
Gesta’s next fight: Mercito Gesta vs Robert Manzanarez
Linares vs Gesta full fight video:
Official video
Official highlights
Total domination in a very entertaining fight involving two boxers with very quick hands. In just a couple of rounds Linares was able to figure out the best way to outclass Gesta which he did quite easy by means of his superb boxing skills and excellent punch combinations. He will be a good rival for Garcia but I doubt a bit that he is a match for Loma who is in my opinion the best one in this category. I
Best fight of that card. Should have been the main event.
Least Gesta didnt take a dive.
I personally think Linares Vs Lomachenko would be a good fight.
Not saying I would bet on him but he is very proficient and has quick hands.
Since Garcia is chasing money that is a fight that wont
happen. If Berchelt wont fight Lomachenko, then it could be possible for Linares.