By Ian S Palmer
Unbeaten WBA interim Junior Lightweight Champ Chris Colbert of Brooklyn, New York will be taking on Tugstogt Nyambayar of Mongolia in Carson, California this Saturday, July 3rd. The 12-rounder can be seen live in America on Showtime while fans in Canada can catch it on TSN 2. Colbert won the interim title in January, 2020 when he beat former world champion Jezzrel Corrales via a 12-round unanimous decision and then beat Jaime Arboleda by 11th-round stoppage in his last outing in December. Nyambayar last fought in September when he beat Cobia Breedy by 12-round split decision.
Colbert is just 24-years-old and carries a perfect record of 15-0 with 6 Kos. He earned a shot at the interim title by stopping Miguel Beltran Jr in the first round for the vacant NABA-USA Lightweight Title in September, 2019. He’s fought 93 rounds since making his pro debut in 2015 following a fine amateur career. He was the Daily News Golden Gloves champion of New York City in 2014.
He then won gold at the 2015 National Championships and qualified for the 2016 U.S. Olympic trials, but decided to turn pro as he believed there was too much politics in the amateurs. Since turning pro his biggest wins have been over Jezreel Corrales, Jaime Arboleda, Alberto Mercado and Beltran Jr. Colbert stands 5-feet-8-inches tall with a 71-inch reach with excellent speed and boxing skills.
He’s got a good chin, but not much in the way of one-punch power though with a current knockout ratio of just 40 per cent. It hasn’t been a problem so far though since his slick boxing skills have enabled him to remain undefeated as a pro. And to be fair, he’s stopped three of his last four opponents, Arboleda, Beltran and Mario Briones.
The 29-year-old Nyambayar, who now resides in Los Angeles, enters the ring with a fine mark of 12-1 with 9 Kos for an impressive knockout ratio of 69.23 per cent. However, he’s gone the distance in his last three fights and in four of the last five. He has 74 rounds of experience under his belt since turning pro in 2015 following a successful and extensive amateur career.
He won silver at the 2009 AIBA World Championships in Italy, losing to McWilliams Arroyo of Puerto Rico in the final. He boxed at the 2010 Asian Games in China, made the quarterfinals at the 2010 World Youth Championships in Azerbaijan and boxed at the 2011 AIBA World Championships in Azerbaijan.
He then won silver at the 2012 Asian Olympic Qualifiers and took home a silver medal in the 52 kg division at the 2012 Olympic Games in London, England. After that he boxed at the 2013 AIBA World Championships in Kazakhstan and the 2014 Asian Games in South Korea. He also boxed in the 2010/11 World Series of Boxing for the Baku Fires where he was beaten by former WBC Bantamweight Champion Nordine Oubaali of France on points.
Nyambayar fought Gary Russell Jr in February, 2020 in a shot at the WBC Featherweight Title and suffered his lone pro defeat via a unanimous decision His biggest win came over Claudio Marrero for the vacant IBO Featherweight Title in January 2019 by unanimous decision and he’s also beaten Oscar Escandon by third-round stoppage in May, 2018. Nyambayar stands 5-feet-7-inches tall with a 67-inch so gives up an inch in height and four inches in reach to Colbert.
Prediction…
Nyambayar shouldn’t be taken lightly by Colbert as he’s a fine boxer with pretty good power, a decent chin and plenty of amateur experience. However, he’s moving up in weight and has taken the fight on short notice as Colbert was originally supposed to meet Yuriorkas Gamboa. Colbert need to utilize his speed and boxing skills to keep the challenger on the back foot and he should come out of the fight with another win.
