Tugstsogt Nyambayar: record, next fight and profile →
By Keith Idec - ALLENTOWN, Pennsylvania – Gary Russell Jr. was too elusive, too experienced, too fast, too skillful and too smart for Tugstsogt Nyambayar. The WBC featherweight champion out-classed his mandatory challenger Saturday night and convincingly beat him in their 12-round title fight. Russell retained his 126-pound championship...
Russell, Nyambayar Scorecard BoxingScene Live - WBC Featherweight World Champion Gary Russell Jr. and unbeaten mandatory challenger Tugstsogt "King Tug" Nyambayar went face-to-face at the official weigh-in Friday before they headline action live on SHOWTIME on Saturday, February 8 in a Premier Boxing Champions event from PPL Center in Allentown, Pennsylvania. (photos by Amanda Westcott)
ALLENTOWN, Pennsylvania – Gary Russell Jr. has stated during this promotion that Tugstsogt Nyambayar doesn’t have any pressure on him. Russell’s unbeaten mandatory challenger begs to differ. Nyambayar is motivated to reward the supportive people in his home country of Mongolia by upsetting Russell in their 12-round WBC featherweight title fight Saturday night.
If he wasn’t good, would anyone bother with the jokes? Gary Russell’s limited fight schedule since winning a featherweight belt in 2015 has earned a quip or two. Over the last five calendar years, Russell has appeared just once in all of them. In the last three years, the appearance came in May. Russell 2020 arrives ahead of schedule. The 2008 US Olympian is talking about picking up his activity with an eye on bigger fights.
Gary Russell Jr.’s lengthy layoffs usually are a prominent topic of discussion whenever the talented featherweight champion defends his title. On Saturday night, however, Russell will encounter an opponent who’s been out of the ring for an even longer amount of time than him. Tugstsogt Nyambayar, the mandatory challenger for Russell’s WBC 126-pound championship, hasn’t fought in over a year, not since out-pointing Claudio Marrero in a 12-round elimination match last January 26 at Barclays Center in Brooklyn.
By Mitch Abramson - His appearance is as frequent as Groundhog Day. For the past five years, featherweight titleholder Gary Russell Jr. has fought just once in 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019. He emerges from his burrow, usually performs brilliantly, and then returns to his hibernation. If consistency is the key to remaining sharp, then Russell...
Gary Russell, Nyambayar Weights Allentown Photos Gallery - WBC Featherweight World Champion Gary Russell Jr. and unbeaten mandatory challenger Tugstsogt "King Tug" Nyambayar went face-to-face at the official weigh-in Friday before they headline action live on SHOWTIME on Saturday, February 8 in a Premier Boxing Champions event from PPL Center in Allentown, Pennsylvania. (photos by Amanda Westcott)
Gary Russell Jr. wasn’t exaggerating when he said before Friday’s weigh-in that he still has no problems whatsoever making the featherweight limit of 126 pounds. The long-reigning WBC featherweight champion came in at 125¼ pounds for his mandatory title defense against Tugstsogt Nyambayar on Saturday night at PPL Center in Allentown, Pennsylvania. Nyambayar was slightly heavier than Russell, as he came in at 125½ pounds.
It’s been less than a year since WBC featherweight titlist Gary Russell Jr. (30-1, 18 KO) was last in a ring, which considering his annual appearance calendar since winning the title feels like a thing all its own. Russell is making noise about wanting to be more active and see the bigger names. There is a real obstacle in his way. Russell is attempting his fifth defense against a serious challenger in Mongolia’s Nyambayar (11-0, 9 KO).
By Keith Idec - ALLENTOWN, Pennsylvania – Win or lose Saturday night, Gary Russell Jr. figures his mandatory title defense against Tugstsogt Nyambayar will be his last fight as the WBC featherweight champion. Tired of waiting for the type high-profile fights that he hasn’t been able to secure within the 126-pound division, Russell is prepared to move up...