Stephen Espinoza envisions Gary Russell Jr.’s seventh featherweight title fight on his network unfolding as Russell’s most difficult test since Showtime televised his first championship clash.
Espinoza, Showtime’s president of sports and event programming, is confident Tugstsogt Nyambayar will push Russell on Saturday night like no opponent has done since Vasiliy Lomachenko dealt Russell what stands as his lone loss in June 2014. Showtime will air the 12-round, 126-pound bout between Russell, the WBC featherweight champion, and Nyambayar, the mandatory challenger for Russell’s title, as the main event of a three-fight telecast from PPL Center in Allentown, Pennsylvania.
“I believe this is Gary’s toughest fight since Lomachenko,” Espinoza told BoxingScene.com. “And that’s not a slight against Jo Jo Diaz, who I’m a fan of and is a good, solid fighter. But Jo Jo doesn’t quite have the power that Tug does. I’d expect a similar kind of fight that we saw when Russell fought Diaz. But I think Tug’s power brings an added dimension to this fight. This could quietly be an upset in the making. At the bare minimum, [Nyambayar] is what people refer to as a live dog.”
Russell (30-1, 18 KOs) lost some rounds early in his fight against a then-undefeated Diaz (31-1, 15 KOs), but the skillful southpaw seized complete control during the second half of their 12-rounder and comfortably beat Diaz on two of the three scorecards in May 2018. Judges Dave Moretti (117-111) and Nathan Palmer (117-111) each scored nine rounds for Russell, who won seven rounds on the card of judge Dave Braslow (115-113).
The 31-year-old Russell, of Capitol Heights, Maryland, is listed by numerous Internet sports books as a 4-1 favorite to overcome Mongolia’s Nyambayar (11-0, 9 KOs). Espinoza expects a more competitive fight than that.
“I do see this fight flying a little bit under the radar, when it shouldn’t be,” Espinoza said. “I understand why. Tug Nyambayar isn’t a household name, but if you spend a little time looking into him, watch a little bit of him, you’re immediately struck by the fact that he has all the tools to give Gary a really difficult fight. He’s super-aggressive, has got good power, has a great amateur pedigree and a non-stop motor. I think all those things are gonna provide the type of test for Gary that he hasn’t had in quite some time.”
Ukraine’s Lomachenko beat Russell by majority decision in their 12-rounder 5½ years ago to win the then-vacant WBO featherweight title.
Lomachenko (14-1, 10 KOs), a two-time Olympic gold medalist, became a world champion in just his third professional bout by beating Russell. Two judges – Max De Luca (116-112) and Pat Russell (116-112) – scored eight rounds apiece for Lomachenko, but judge Lisa Giampa scored it a draw (114-114).
The 27-year-old Nyambayar, a silver medalist at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, will fight Saturday night for the first time since defeating Dominican contender Claudio Marrero (24-3, 17 KOs) by unanimous decision in a 12-round battle last January 26 at Barclays Center in Brooklyn. In Russell’s most recent action, the 2008 U.S. Olympian stopped Spain’s Kiko Martinez (40-9-2, 28 KOs) in the fifth round May 18 at Barclays Center.
Showtime’s tripleheader Saturday night also will include Cuban southpaw Guillermo Rigondeaux (19-1, 13 KOs, 1 NC), who’ll oppose Panama’s Liborio Solis (30-5-1, 14 KOs, 1 NC) in a 12-round fight for the vacant WBA world bantamweight title. The telecast will begin at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT with a 10-round, 130-pound contest that’ll pit Panama’s Jaime Arboleda (15-1, 13 KOs) against Puerto Rican veteran Jayson Velez (29-5-1, 21 KOs).
Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.
