Junior lightweight contender Chris Colbert returns to the ring against late replacement Hector Luis Garcia on Saturday in Las Vegas.
Chris Colbert (16-0, 6 KOs) vs. Hector Luis Garcia (26-0, 13 KOs)
- Date: Saturday, Feb. 26
- Time: 10 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. PT (main event later in show)
- Where: The Cosmopolitan, Las Vegas
- TV/Stream: Showtime
- Division: Junior lightweight
- Rounds: 12
- At stake: Title eliminator
- Pound-for-pound ranking: None
- Odds: NA
- Also on the card: Jerwin Ancajas vs. Fernando Martinez, junior bantamweights (for Ancajas’ IBF title); Gary Antuanne Russell vs. Viktor Postol, junior welterweights
- Prediction: Colbert UD
- Background: Colbert was scheduled to challenge WBA 130-pound titleholder but Gutierrez had to pull out after testing positive for COVID-19. Garcia took the fight on a week’s notice. Colbert has dominated everyone placed in front of him with his unusual combination of speed and skill. He’s coming off a one-sided decision victory over respected Tugstsogt Nyambayar this past July. Of course, Colbert was disappointed that his first title shot fell through but another one will come soon enough if he continues to win. Garcia is no pushover replacement opponent. The Dominican represented his country in the 2016 Olympics, losing in the first round. He can box. However, while he has almost as many pro fights as Colbert, he hasn’t fought at an elite level. He has taken part in 11-round bouts in the Dominican Republic but his last three fights have been eight-rounders, the most-recent one a unanimous decision over Isaac Avelar on the David Morrell-Alantez Fox card in December.
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