By: Sean Crose
The undefeated 15-0 super featherweight Chris Colbert will be defending his secondary WBA title this evening when he faces the 12-1 Tugstsogt Nyambayar at the Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson, California. The match will be aired live on Showtime and is 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. Credit to Nayambayar for taking this one on less than two week’s notice, and for going up in weight to face Colbert, as well. Showtime will air the Colbert-Nayambayar televised card live starting at 9 PM eastern time.
The extremely flashy Colbert, who has dyed his hair a reddish orange color, was last seen in the ring back in December when he stopped Jaime Arboleda in the 11th round. Nyambayar, on the other hand, hasn’t fought since September when he bested Cobia Breedy via split decision after knocking his man down twice in the early rounds. Nyambayar’s only loss has been to Gary Russell Jr, who cruised to a 12 round unanimous decision victory over the Mongolian fighter in early 2020. Besting Colbert will be a tall order for Nyambayar, but the man is skilled and can hit. This could prove interesting, especially if Colbert finds himself being legitimately challenged by Gamboa’s last minute replacement.
The undefeated 20-0 lightweight Michel Rivera will be on Saturday’s card, as well. He’ll be facing the 21-1 Jon Fernandez in a scheduled 12 rounder. This will be the first time Rivera has stepped into the ring since February, when he knocked out Anthony Mercado Raices in the final round of their scheduled 8 round battle. Fernandez last fought in February, as well, knocking out Aristides Perez in the very first round of a scheduled 8 round affair. Both of these under-the-radar fighters would clearly like to make an impression tonight, so this one could prove entertaining.
Showtime will also be airing last week’s pay per view main event between Gervonta Davis and Mario Barrios. The back and forth fight showed that Davis just might have what it takes to be a legitimate star and was a thoroughly captivating affair. Davis found himself in a real fight this time around, and emerged from it in explosive fashion. Although not a major outing, this evening’s Showtime offerings should make for a solid night of boxing, after last week’s plethora of notable viewing.