By Jeff Aronow: Tugstsogt ‘King Tug’ Nyambayar (12-1, 9 KOs) will be looking to dethrone interim WBA super featherweight champion Chris Colbert (15-0, 6 KOs) tonight at the Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson, California.
The 2016 Olympic silver medalist Tugstsogt and Colber, 24, will be meeting in the main event on Showtime Boxing. The action starts at 9:00 p.m. ET/6:00 p.m. PT.
King Tug is coming up in weight from the 126-lb weight class as a replacement opponent after Yuriorkis Gamboa pulled out of the fight.
This is a winnable fight for King Tug if he can land his shots on Colbert, who isn’t much of a puncher. King Tug has a big power advantage, but he’s got to find a way to land his slower shots by timing Colbert.
Despite having little time to prepare for the contest, Nayambayar, 29, made weight with ease last Friday in coming in at 129 1/2 lbs at the weigh-in.
Coming in as a replacement, King Tug has a real opportunity to pull off an upset and put himself in a position to challenge for the world title against WBA Super World champion Gervonta ”Tank’ Davis.
That would be a nice payday for King Tug if he can get the fight, which would likely dwarf what he’ll be getting tonight against Colbert in the headliner on Showtime.
“I just really want to test myself at 130, and it’s a great opportunity,” said Tugstsogt Nyambayar to Behind The Gloves about his fight with Chris Colbert.
“I got a good opportunity to fight at 130, and that’s why I took the fight on short notice,” said King Tug.
“I really believe in myself, and I’m really going to f*** him up. He [Colbert] has a similar speed to Gary Russell. I’m used to his speed,” said King Tug.
Adjusting to the hand speed of the 24-year-old Colbert will be the most difficult thing for Nyambayar.
King Tug had problems in his last two fights against Cobia Breedy (15-1, 5 KOs) and Gary Russell Jr (31-1, 18 KOs) in dealing with their superior hand speed.
Russell beat him by a 12 round unanimous decision, and he barely got by Breedy by a 12 round split decision.
Although King Tug’s trainer said they’ve been working on adjusting to the speed they’ll be seeing from Colbert tonight; it remains to be seen whether he’ll be able to do so.
“I’m very happy to fight at the Stubhub; it’s my second home. LA is my home,” said King Tug. “I want to say one thing. It’s going to be about all my fans. The whole crowd is going to turn up this place.
“I’ll win the fight. No matter what, I’ll win the fight,” said Nyambayar in predicting a victory over Colbert tonight.
A win for King Tug would be a big upset, as odds-makers have Colbert as a clear favorite going into tonight’s contest.
