Tag Archives: Roger Gutierrez

Ryan Garcia to Fight Mercito Gesta in January 2023 Tune-Up Fight

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Ryan Garcia has locked in his tune-up opponent…

The 24-year-old Mexican American professional boxer has signed a contract to fight Mercito Gesta in a January 28 fight in Phoenix, according to ESPN.

Ryan “Kingry” Garcia 

The 140-pound bout will serve as a tune-up for Garcia, who is slated to meet Gervonta Davis on April 15 in a Las Vegas superfight at a 136-pound catchweight.

Davis (27-0, 25 KOs) has his own tuneup January 7 against 130-pound titleholder Hector Luis Garcia in Washington.

Both Ryan Garcia and Davis must emerge victorious — and uninjured — from their respective January bouts to proceed with their April 15 pay-per-view showdown.

Davis’ trial for his alleged involvement in a hit-and-run crash, meanwhile, is scheduled for Feb. 16 in his native Baltimore, according to court records.

Garcia (23-0, 19 KOs) is one of the biggest stars in boxing, with 9 million followers on Instagram. He will be a heavy favorite against Gesta, a 35-year-old Filipino who has won two of his past five bouts.

The matchup with Gesta (33-3-3, 17 KOs) comes after a pair of victories for Garcia this year, both at 140 pounds. He scored a unanimous-decision win over fringe contender Emmanuel Tagoe in April and followed up with a sixth-round KO over perennial contender Javier Fortuna.

Garcia, who fights out of the San Diego area, picked up his career-best victory in January 2021 after he survived a knockdown to stop Luke Campbell in the seventh round.

He didn’t fight the rest of 2021 after he withdrew from a fight with Fortuna to address his mental health then had to scrap a bout with Joseph Diaz Jr. due to wrist surgery.

While Garcia is facing a genuine stay-busy opponent, Davis is meeting a boxer who broke through in 2022.

Hector Luis Garcia, a 10-1 underdog, routed Chris Colbert via unanimous decision in February before a wide-points victory over Roger Gutierrez earned him the WBA junior lightweight title.

The 31-year-old Dominican is ESPN’s No. 4 boxer at 130 pounds. Hector Luis Garcia (16-0, 10 KOs) will move up 5 pounds for the lightweight clash with Davis.

Roger Gutierrez Shocks Rene Alvarado in Revenge Win to Claim WBA Belt

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Roger Gutierrez gets revenge while claiming a WBA belt…

The 25-year-old Venezuelan boxer dropped Rene Alvarado in Round 12 to secure a narrow but unanimous decision victory to win the WBA “regular” junior lightweight title at the American Airlines Center in Dallas on Saturday.

Roger Gutierrez

After seeing his twin brother, Felix Alvarado, score a 10th-round stoppage win to retain his IBF junior flyweight world title earlier on the card, Rene Alvarado went on to lose the title in his first defense by scores of 113-112 on all three scorecards.

Gutierrez — who dedicated the victory to his mother, who died of cancer two months ago — dropped Alvarado three times and, crucially, won the last round.

Alvarado (32-9, 21 KOs), 31, of Nicaragua, was almost stopped in the third round but recovered from two knockdowns to control most of the fight.

Gutierrez (24-3-1, 20 KOs) avenged a seventh-round stoppage loss to Alvarado in 2017, when his corner threw in the towel after he suffered a bad cut.

Alvarado could not stay upright in the third round when Gutierrez released a sweet right uppercut to the jaw. Alvarado took the count but was on unsteady feet, and Gutierrez capitalized to drop him for a second time with a straight right that sent the Nicaraguan crashing backward.

A left hand to the temple wobbled Alvarado again, but he recovered and went on the attack in the fifth, and cut Gutierrez badly around the left eye. The fight then seemed to drift away from Gutierrez as Alvarado forced the pace in the second half, until the last round, when Gutierrez dropped Alvarado for a third count with a glancing left hook to the chin.