On March 18, Golden Boy Promotions will present a card featuring Gilberto Ramirez and Gabriel Rosado in a super lightweight battle between Joseph Diaz and Mercito Gesta.

Gesta (33-3-3, 17 KOs) is coming off an impressive victory over Joel Diaz Jr., dropping him twice in the process. Previously he'd drawn with Carlos Morales and lost to Juan Antonio Rodriguez on technical draws.

Gilberto Ramirez vs. Gabriel Rosado

Gilberto Ramirez (44-1, 30KO) will seek to rebound from a loss in his last fight when he takes on two-time middleweight title challenger Gabriel Rosado (26-16-1, 15 KOs) in an exciting 12-round match on March 18 at the Fox Theater in Pomona, California for the Ramirez-Rosado card. This bout marks the first of three main events set for Saturday night's show at the Fox Theater.

Ramirez is an accomplished southpaw who has been competing for 13 years, boasting an impressive 34 wins, 2 losses and one draw. He has competed in weight divisions such as welterweight, super welterweight and lightweight.

He stands two inches taller and has a reach advantage of three inches over Rosado, who is an orthodox fighter. As a southpaw, Herman holds the height advantage in this matchup while Rosado stands at 5'10".

His last five fights have averaged 8 rounds.

Rosado, a well-known bleeder, can be an intimidating opponent for any boxer. His fights often end in bloodshed as opponents succumb to his attacks and leave them disfigured.

In his last fight, he was defeated by Jaime Munguia in November 2021 via unanimous decision. However, he managed to come back and defeat Bektemir Melikuziev in June 2021 with a third round knockout that only fuels his desire for another title shot.

He will have to step up a weight class for this fight with Ramirez, and although he is an impressive fighter, his recent defeat makes him seem like an outsider for victory. While he may be able to keep it close and avoid bleeding issues, his opponent's power will prove too strong for him to overcome.

He is a dream spoiler who has crushed the championship aspirations of several elite fighters, most recently Bektemir Melikuziev. His record also includes victories over Freddie Roach, Edgar Berlanga and Jaime Munguia; however none can compare to Tijuana veteran when it comes to stopping people.

Joseph Diaz vs. Mercito Gesta

On March 18th, Joseph Diaz will face Mercito Gesta as the primary support bout for Golden Boy Promotions' Gilberto Ramirez-Gabriel Rosado card on DAZN. The match will take place at Fantasy Springs Casino in Indio, California and airs live on DAZN.

JoJo Diaz is an American boxer with a record of 32 wins, 3 losses and one draw with 15 knockouts. He competes as a lightweight fighter.

He has been ranked multiple times in the lightweight division and is an effective puncher, though he can be vulnerable to his opponents' power. Additionally, he's an impressive inside fighter who excels at cutting off movement from his opponents.

Gesta, an experienced southpaw from San Diego who's lost two fights in a row and recently returned to action after an extended inactive period, is the more formidable opponent. A former title challenger at 126 pounds, his only win since moving up to lightweight came in early 2021 when he secured a 12-round decision over Shavkat Rakhimov.

The 35-year-old hasn't engaged in a ten-rounder since April 21, 2017, when he faced Joel Diaz Jr. and came out victorious by unanimous decision.

Diaz (32-3-1, 15 KOs) is still an impressive lightweight fighter who has had success in most of his fights - including against William Zepeda and Devin Haney. He's a powerful puncher with great speed but may be clumsy at times.

He's an impressive counterpuncher, and has scored big upsets in the past with some well-timed combinations. He presents Gesta with a formidable challenge, but I believe he will need to put in effort in order to prevail.

Both men are lightweights, so they'll be pitted against one another on an equal playing field. Diaz is the superior inside fighter and more powerful, but Gesta has an impressive jab and left hook combo to his name. Plus, Gesta has more consistent performance when counterpunching than Diaz does.

Schedule

JoJo Diaz, despite his loss to William Zepeda in their most recent fight, remains a formidable boxer and returns for another battle against Mercito Gesta on March 18 as the main support for Golden Boy Promotions' Gilberto Ramirez-Gabriel Rosado card. Neither fighter has much experience at light heavyweight weight but this should be an exciting contest nonetheless.

Joseph Diaz (32-3-1, 15 KOs) is an IBF junior lightweight title challenger who has moved up in weight to 126 for this fight. Since making the switch, Diaz is 1-2.

The 30-year-old from South El Monte, California is coming off a disappointing loss to Devin Haney in December 2021 and now looks to rebound against Gesta in this 12-rounder.

Gesta (33-3-3, 17 KOs) hasn't fought since his 10 round victory over Joel Diaz on April 21, 2019, which included two knockouts of the former title challenger. Although this was his first fight since November 2019, Gesta hopes to stay active and return to the ring soon, perhaps against Gervonta Davis.

He is the veteran of two world title attempts, losing by decision to Miguel Vazquez in 2012 and Jorge Linares in 2018.

Though the 35-year-old from Labogon, Mandaue City, Philippines has not competed for a world title in almost three years, he remains an incredibly competitive and talented fighter. Eleven years ago he was considered a top prospect; however his one-sided loss to Miguel Vazquez put an end to that ambition.

Gesta's career took an abrupt turn after that loss; he has since battled against relatively inexperienced opposition with limited success, winning two draws against Carlos Morales and Juan Antonio Rodriguez.

After a lengthy absence, Gesta returned to the ring in November and earned himself an impressive technical draw against Carlos Morales. He then faced Jose Estrela, who also took a technical draw. Gesta had been scheduled to fight Ryan Garcia in January; however, Garcia changed his mind and chose instead to wait for his yet-unsigned bout with Gervonta Davis.

Predictions

On March 18th, DAZN will broadcast Joseph 'Jo Jo' Diaz (32-3-1, 15 KOs) against Mercito Gesta (36-3-3, 17 KOs). These two southpaws will square off at lightweight.

Diaz, 30, has had a remarkable comeback after losing his last two bouts. His first loss came against Devin Haney at lightweight in December 2021; since then he's gone on to win three of his last four fights.

Golden Boy Promotions' Diaz-Gesta matchup is an ideal one. It looks better on paper than the main event and could potentially generate more excitement than the lopsided WBA light heavyweight title fight between Ramirez and Dmitry Bivol that headlined Ramirez-Rosado show in November.

Diaz has won seven of his eight professional fights, but has been defeated twice in his last four by highly-ranked opponents: Devin Haney in December 2021 and William Zepeda in October 2019.

Gesta, on the other hand, is an experienced veteran who has had some notable victories over Joel Diaz Jr. and Juan Antonio Rodriguez but may be past his prime. In 2019, he lost to Juan Antonio Rodriguez by TKO but then pulled off a technical draw with Carlos Morales later that same year.

He secured a 10-round decision victory over Diaz in April 2022, and has enjoyed many impressive victories throughout his career, including defeating Javier Fortuna in his inaugural fight at lightweight.

Gesta is delighted that his plans for a major championship bout against Ryan Garcia didn't materialize, and is now facing off against Diaz instead. While Gesta may have the edge in power, Diaz is an IBF super featherweight champion who has been competing at lightweight for some time now; thus, he already has some experience competing at that weight.

Diaz-Gesta's bout should be an exciting one, as both fighters possess excellent boxing skills and Gesta is more of a southpaw than Diaz is; therefore, this contest promises to be close throughout.