By: Sean Crose
The undefeated 15-0 super featherweight Chris Colbert defended his secondary WBA title Saturday when he faced the 12-1 Tugstsogt Nyambayar at the Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson, California. The match was aired live on Showtime and was scheduled for 12 rounds. The very slick Colbert was initially set to face Yuriokis Gamboa, but an injury removed the veteran Gamboa from the fight.
Each man fired in bursts in an exciting first round. Things remained tight in the second as each man launched away. Nyambayar jumped on his man in the third, but Colbert survived the attack. Things remained close in the fourth, but Colbert’s speed was working to his advantage. Nyambayar tried getting inside in the fifth, while Colbert tried holding his man off with his jab. Colbert continued to play it safe behind his jab in the sixth, opening up on his opponent when the opportunity arose.
Nyambayar capitalized a bit on Colbert taking his foot off the gas in the 7th. Still Colbert was able to effectively come alive in the last part of the round. By the 8th Colbert was able to completely dominate his man. Nyambayar remained game in the 9th, but was unable to get to his man enough to turn the tide. By the 10th it was obvious that Colbert had figured his opponent out some time previously and was now essentially on cruise control, allowing his skill and size to carry him through the remainder of the fight.
Colbert continued to let his ring generalship tell the story in the 11th. The 12th and final round essentially looked like the rest of the fight, with Nyambayar trying desperately get in on a larger, faster, slicker opponent. Needless to say, Colbert wisely kept his distance before walking out of the ring with another win on his resume, via a unanimous decision by the judges.