William Zepeda Stops Mercito Gesta In Six

William Zepeda (29-0, 25 KOs) stopped yet another opponent as he defeated Mercito Gesta (34-4-3, 17 KOs) via sixth round knockout. The time of stoppage was 1:31. Their lightweight bout headlined a Golden Boy Promotions event at the Commerce Casino in Commerce, California, and was broadcast live by DAZN around the world. For Zepeda, this was his second stoppage of the year after defeating Jaime Arboleda via second round KO in April.

In the early rounds, Zepeda pushed forward and kept Gesta on the back foot. Zepeda landed a variety of clean shots to the head and body. He also effectively cut off the ring. As a result, Gesta was getting repeatedly hit cleanly. At times, Gesta attempted to stand and trade with Zepeda. However, Gesta struggled to deal with the high volume of punches. At the end of round five, referee Jack Reiss warned Gesta and his corner that the fight will be stopped if it continues the way it has been going. Head trainer Marvin Somodio also considered stopping the clash but allowed it to continue.

In round six, Zepeda continued to throw and land on Gesta. It was clear at this point that Gesta had absolutely nothing for Zepeda. As a result, Reiss stepped in to halt the contest. Under rules set out by the California State Athletic Commission (CSAC), this is considered a KO and not a TKO.

“Thank you to Team Gesta, I wanted a fight with an experienced opponent and he gave that to me,” said Zepeda via translator after the bout. “In the first round, I knew he was dangerous, and that I had to keep on working.”

HEART OF WARRIORS

What a fight! #ZepedaGesta @DAZNBoxing pic.twitter.com/LFiPDznS5u

— Golden Boy (@GoldenBoyBoxing) September 17, 2023

Valle-Santizo recap

Yokasta Valle (29-2, 9 KOs) made another successful defense of her unified minimumweight titles with a unanimous decision win over Maria Santizo (11-4, 6 KOs). Scores were 99-91 (x2) and 100-90. With the win, Valle retains her IBF and WBO belts.

Santizo immediately went after Valle once the bell rang to begin the fight. She relied on her volume punching in an attempt to become world champion on her second attempt. However, it was Valle who landed the more convincing shots throughout the clash. Valle was also the more economical of the two. An accidental headbutt opened a cut on the bridge of Valle’s nose in round seven, but she continued to land the cleaner shots for the remainder of the fight.

Both women displayed sturdy chins throughout the clash. Valle’s head was snapped in round one itself, but she was able to regroup and land rights of her own. In the fifth, Valle was caught off-guard by Santizo, but recovered once again to land right hands. A left hook rocked Santizo in round six for the first time in the bout. Due to Santizo’s leaky defense, Valle attempted to go for the stoppage but was unable to get it in the end.

For Valle, the bout represented her second defence of her unified status following a unanimous decision win over Thi Thu Nhi Nguyen in September last year. Santizo previously took on Seniesa Estrada for the WBA minimumweight title but lost via fourth round knockout in the process.

That hook, tho!!

🇲🇽 #ZepedaGesta 🇵🇭 pic.twitter.com/ckw9RdLl6C

— Golden Boy (@GoldenBoyBoxing) September 17, 2023

Zepeda-Gesta undercard recap

Victor Morales Jr. (19-0-1, 9 KOs) defeated Edwin Palomares (18-5-2, 9 KOs) via ten-round unanimous decision. Scores were 100-90, 99-91 and 96-94 for this featherweight fight.

In an eight-round light heavyweight clash, Darius Fulghum (7-0, 7 KOs) stopped Ricardo Luna (25-11-2, 16 KOs) in two rounds. The time of stoppage was 1:30.

Eric Priest (11-0, 7 KOs) won an eight-round majority decision against Simon Madsen (13-2, 10 KOs). Judges scored the middleweight bout 76-76, 80-72 and 79-73.

In a six-round super lightweight clash, Alejandro Reyes (11-0, 5 KOs) beat Roberto Gomez (5-3, 5 KOs) via majority decision. Scores were 57-57, 59-55 and 58-56.

Daniel Garcia (7-0, 5 KOs) won a unanimous decision against Erick Garcia (4-5, 1 KO). Judges scored the six-round lightweight bout 60-54.

Gael Cabrera (2-0, 1 KO) beat Juan Centeno (8-10-3, 1 KO) via four-round unanimous decision. All judges had the super featherweight clash 40-36.

In a four-round super lightweight bout, Jordan Cervantes (1-0, 0 KOs) won his professional debut against Giovanny Meza (0-5, 0 KOs) via unanimous decision. All three judges scored the bout 40-36.