Tugstsogt Nyambayar was taken aback when he received the call last week.
Promoter Tom Brown was on the phone with an offer to fight young 130-pound star Chris Colbert on short notice after original opponent Yuriorkis Gamboa pulled out with an injury. Nyambayar paused for a moment and then said, in so many words, “Heck yes.”
He will meet Colbert on Saturday at Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson, Calif. The fight will be televised on Showtime.
“When they offered the fight, I was like, ‘Whaaaaaaat?’” he told Boxing Junkie through a translator. “I was kind of surprised. I talked it over with my trainer John [Pullman] and accepted the fight.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9VPlxTDRvPk
Nyambayar (12-1, 9 KOs) certainly isn’t lacking in confidence given the challenge he faces. Not only is Colbert one of the most-gifted fighters in the world, the Mongolian will have to move up from 126 pounds for the fight and has had limited time prepare.
The 2012 Olympic silver medalist, who is gifted himself, had been in the gym but he didn’t begin training specially for Colbert until about a week ago.
“It doesn’t really matter now because I accepted the fight on short notice,” he said. “If you’re a real fighter, you have to be ready to fight no matter what. … I will do everything I can to win the fight.
“I’m here to win, not just to take the fight.”
Fans might see this as a daunting challenge for Nyambayar but he’s certainly not fazed. Pullman made that clear.
“Tug has been fighting elite competition his whole life,” the trainer said. “Chris Colbert is very good, I respect his skills, his natural talent. He’s a gritty, hungry, successful young fighter. But he doesn’t do anything Tug hasn’t seen.
“… It’s just his whole DNA makeup. He’s a fighter to his core. Nothing intimidates him, nothing worries him.”
Not even moving up in weight? Nope.
Pullman described 126 pounds as his fighter’s “sweet spot” but he hearkened back to the past, when “junior” and “super” weight divisions didn’t exist. Lightweights jumped to welterweight and welterweights jumped to middleweight, which worked out fine.
He said he’s more concerned about Colbert’s ability than the weight issue.
“If it’s the right fight, the right opponent, then [weight] isn’t a problem,” Pullman said.
Nyambayar’s take on participating in his first fell-fledged junior lightweight bout? “I will tell you after the fight,” he said.
Nyambayar is only two fights renived from his only title shot, a one-sided, unanimous-decision loss to longtime 126-pound champion Gary Russell Jr. in February of last year. He bounced back with a split-decision victory over slick Cobia Breedy in September, although it was a closer fight than some expected.
One might say his limitations were exposed in those fights. He says the experience gained in those setbacks will make him a better fighter.
“I learned a lot in those fights,” he said. “I just regrouped and [maintained] my motivation for future fights. … Colbert is a good fighter, a good boxer. I’m also a good fighter. Let’s see what happens.”
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