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Romero Duno seeks revenge for friend Mercito Gesta against Juan Rodriguez

Romero Duno (left) with Rodel Mayol (Photo by Jhay Oh Otamias)
Fighters Network
07
May

Romero Duno has the added motivation of revenge fueling him as he approaches his clash with Juan Antonio Rodriguez on May 16.

Rodriguez is coming off the biggest win of his career less than two months ago when he stopped two-time title challenger Mercito Gesta in eight rounds. Gesta, who like Duno is from the Philippines, is a friend of Duno’s who frequently spars with him at the Wild Card Gym in Los Angeles.

“He said he will avenge his friend Mercito,” said trainer Rodel Mayol.

“That is one of the reasons why I want to win this fight,” Duno (19-1, 15 knockouts) added.



The fight is scheduled for ten rounds and will take place at the Fantasy Springs Resorts Casino in Indio, Calif., and will headline a Golden Boy-DAZN ‘Thursday Night Fights’ broadcast that will be streamed live on RingTV.com.

Duno says he has watched Rodriguez’s victory several times. His style is same as other Mexican fighters; always moving forward,” Duno said. The 31-year-old Rodriguez (30-7, 26 KOs) is a southpaw, and started the trouble for Gesta with a left hand that he wasn’t ready for before following up with several other lefts with Gesta along the ropes.

“It’ll be a big difference when he feels the power of Duno,” said Mayol.

“He is ready, camp is almost finished. His training is going now and I’ll make sure in the fight he has power and speed.”

Mayol acknowledges this is an important test for Duno, considering that Rodriguez has nearly 40 fights and has only been stopped twice.

But if he can get through this fight impressively, the 23-year-old Duno could be close to title contention at 135 pounds.

“Let’s see the outcome for this fight if he can challenge those world champions. One advantage for Duno is his power and he has a big heart to knock the opponent out or to outbox his opponent,” said Mayol, who is working with Duno for the seventh fight.

“The only thing I’m worried about right now is he is not mature yet to take the right time when to unload his power. He needs to be patient and wait at the right time, but all those will come in the process of experience.”

One fight Duno says he would be interested in is a matchup against fellow Golden Boy prospect Ryan Garcia. He says he’s thought about it, since they both compete in the lightweight division, but he thinks that’s a fight to save for when one of them has a world title around their waist.

“I can’t say,” Duno said when asked how he thinks their fight would play out. “But that would be a good fight for sure.”

Ryan Songalia is a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America and part of the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism Class of 2020. He can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter at @ryansongalia.

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