LOS ANGELES -- After a three year layoff, Mercito "No Mercy" Gesta came out strong on Golden Boy’s Fight Night on DAZN, dropping highly rated Joel Diaz Jr. twice in the first round.

The ensuing 9 rounds turned into an action-packed match-up with the Mandaue-born fighter landing vicious left hands throughout the match.

The final score cards gave Gesta a unanimous decision win.

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"I wasn’t expecting (the knockdown) too but since I haven’t fought for a while, I think the feeling, excitement after I saw his punches, I just want to jump and get in there. But I gotta give it to him," said Gesta.

"He’s tough, he made it all the way to the 10 rounds. Although there's a lot of time I kind of hurt him, he remained, stayed there being a brawler. It';s not bad for my first comeback fight after a while not fighting."

Gesta had plenty of motivation going into this fight, where he was listed as the B-side. Aside from anticipating his first child in August, he dedicated the fight to a family friend Obie Sibug who passed away from COVID-19 earlier this year.

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"Obie is really important on my team. He’s kind of like a dad to me, too because I’ve known Obie before my parents got here, he’s like their age. He’s kind of like a dad to me, he always thinks about me, and he’s on the team. And of course we're so devastated when he passed away. That's why I dedicated the fight to Obie," said Gesta.

With a big win, the 34-year-old now improved his record to 33-3-3 and hopes it can open the door for another world title shot in the lightweight division.

Despite a few bruises, Gesta is actually open to trying to squeeze in one more fight before his wife’s due date in August.