2/8 PBC on SHO: Gary Russell Jr. vs Tugstsogt Nyambayar (WBC Featherweight Title)

[patscorpio]

Featherweight world titleholder Gary Russell Jr. will come out of his annual hibernation to take on mandatory challenger Tugstsogt "King Tug" Nyambayar on Feb. 8, Premier Boxing Champions announced on Monday.

The fight, which will headline a "Showtime Championship Boxing" tripleheader (Showtime, 9 p.m. ET), will take place at the PPL Center in Allentown, Pennsylvania.

"Gary Russell Jr. has proven himself to be at the very elite level of this sport and one of the best fighters in the featherweight division," said TGB Promotions president Tom Brown, who is promoting the card. "He's going to get all he can handle from an undefeated fighter in 'King Tug' Nyambayar, who has the pedigree and power to make this a memorable fight."

Russell (30-1, 18 KOs), 31, a southpaw from Capitol Heights, Maryland, will be making the fifth defense of his 126-pound world title but boxing for the first time in nine months and for only the sixth time since 2014.

Russell has been chronically inactive for no particular reason for several years. He won his world title by fourth-round knockout of Jhonny Gonzalez in March 2015 in his only fight of that year. He has boxed just once in each year since despite no major injuries and there being plenty of opportunities, even if he could not get a unification bout. His only loss came by one-sided decision to Vasiliy Lomachenko when they met for a vacant featherweight world title in 2014. Russell has won six fights in a row since.

"I'm forced to defend my title against another mandatory challenger and I'm going to show on Feb. 8 why none of the other champions want to face me," Russell said. "I'm the longest current reigning WBC champion but no one has stepped up to the challenge I present. I'm going to take care of business against a strong opponent and display all my skills like I always do."

Nyambayar (11-0, 9 KOs), 27, claimed a 2012 Olympic silver medal for Mongolia but did not turn pro until 2015. But Nyambayar, who trains in Las Vegas, has been even more inactive recently than Russell as he will be coming off a 13-month layoff since his career-best win. That was a hard-fought unanimous decision against longtime contender Claudio Marrero in a world title elimination bout last Jan. 26 on the Keith Thurman-Josesito Lopez card in Brooklyn, New York.

"This is going to be an exciting fight for everyone watching on February 8," said Nyambayar. "Gary Russell Jr. is a great champion who is very talented, but he has the WBC belt and that's what I want. I'm training hard to win this fight and I will be ready for anything that Russell brings to the ring."

In the co-feature, lineal junior featherweight world champion Guillermo Rigondeaux will move down to the bantamweight division to fight former junior bantamweight world titlist Liborio Solis with a vacant secondary 118-pound belt.

The fight was originally scheduled to take place Dec. 21 but postponed because Solis could not get a visa in time to enter the United States. But that has been taken care of.

The southpaw Rigondeaux (19-1, 13 KOs), 39, a two-time Cuban Olympic gold medalist fighting out of Miami, unified junior featherweight world titles when he outpointed Nonito Donaire in 2013. He did not lose until he went up two weight divisions to challenge then-junior lightweight titlist Lomachenko for his 130-pound belt in December 2017 in the first fight ever between two-time Olympic gold medalists. Lomachenko dominated and made Rigondeaux quit on his stool after the sixth round.

After taking a year off, Rigondeaux returned in January and has won two fights in a row, a first-round knockout of Giovanni Delgado and an eighth-round knockout of former world titlist Julio Ceja on June 23.

Solis (30-5-1, 14 KOs), 37, a Venezuela native fighting out of Panama, will be making his American debut. He has won five fights in a row since a loss and a no decision in two bantamweight world title bouts with Jamie McDonnell in 2016 and 2017.

In the opening bout, Jaime Arboleda (15-1, 13 KOs) is slated to fight Jayson Velez in a junior lightweight world title eliminator. Arboleda, 25, of Panama, has won five in a row since his lone loss to Recky Dulay in July 2017. Former featherweight world title challenger Velez (29-5-1, 21 KOs), 31, of Puerto Rico, has won three fights in a row by knockout since losing a lopsided 10-round decision loss to rising star Ryan Garcia in May 2018.

 

[1970s HeRon Flow]

 

[patscorpio]

remember gary russ is the handspeed gawd

smuggary

• patscorpio
• May 20, 2017

 

[reservoirdogs]

This is a good fight, Tug will come to fight.

 

[Creflo ½ Dollar]

King Tug got this.

Russel ain’t got heart in the game .

Fights only once a year and I still remember him not doing enough against Loma. He took his UD in peace.

 

[aceboon]

Hope Tug wins, the division needs another champ who is gonna try to move the division forward

 

[patscorpio]

Gary Russell, Nyambayar Meet All WBC Weight Checks
By Jake Donovan

Published On Wed Feb 5, 2020, 02:13 PM EST

For all of the talk of his infrequent fight schedule, Gary Russell Jr. stays ready for the opportunities that eventually come his way.

The long-reigning featherweight titlist is already well within the divisional weight limit for his upcoming mandatory defense versus Thailand’s Tugstsogt Nyamyabar (11-0, 9KOs). Both boxers have complied with the pre-fight safety regulations as required by the World Boxing Council (WBC), whose title will be at stake for their headliner this weekend at PPL Center in Allentown, Pennsylvania (Saturday, SHOWTIME, 9:00pm ET).

At the seven-day safety weight check, Russell (30-1, 18KOs) weighed 127 pounds—just one pound above the official pre-fight weigh-in limit of 126 pounds—while Nyamabar tipped the scales at 129 pounds. The maximum allowable weight for any WBC-sanctioned fight seven days out is 3% above the contracted limit, in this case rounded up to 130 pounds.

Both boxers also hit the mark at the 30- and 14-day safety checks, as well. The 30-day mark requires participants to be at or within 10% of the contracted limit (rounded up to 139 pounds for this fight), with that range cut in half to 5% at the 14-day mark.

Russell was 130.5 pounds 30 days out, and 130 pounds at the 14-day checkpoint. Nyambayar weighed 136.6 pounds and 130.8 pounds, respectively, at similar points.

Saturday’s main event will mark the first ring appearance for Russell since a 5th round knockout of Kiko Martinez last May in Brooklyn, New York. The 31-year old southpaw and 2008 U.S. Olympian from Capitol Heights, Maryland will attempt the 5th defense of the title he claimed in a one-sided 4th round stoppage of Jhonny Gonzalez in March 2015.

Russell is currently second only to Deontay Wilder as the sport’s longest-reigning active major titlist. Wilder has made 10 successful defenses of the heavyweight title he claimed in January 2015, and is set to attempt his 11th defense in a February 22 rematch with Tyson Fury.

Nyambayar was barely two weeks into his pro career when Russell’s title reign began.

The 2012 Olympic Silver medalist from Ulan-Bator, Thailand—who trains under Joe Goossen at Ten Goose Boxing Gym in Van Nuys, California—was fast-tracked as a pro, advancing to contention following a pair of wins over former interim titlists. Nyambayar, 28, stopped Oscar Escandon in the 3rd round of their May 2018 clash, followed by a hard-fought 12-round nod over Dominican southpaw Claudio Marrero in their official title eliminator last January in Brooklyn, New York.

 

[ChocolateGiddyUp]

Can’t wait to see Turbo fist mugging the camera that so N so is ducking

Then see him return to the Ring March 2021 N fight Great Tiger

 

[patscorpio]

Can’t wait to see Turbo fist mugging the camera that so N so is ducking

Then see him return to the Ring March 2021 N fight Great Tiger

remember he is one of the longest reigning champs in boxing today - 3rd in world; 2nd in america behind wilder although gary has beaten more champs than wilder

 

[2 Up 2 Down]

Tug is a good fighter that I have been trying to keep tabs on. Don't know if he is ready for the big stage yet but wouldn't be surprised if he won

 

[Creflo ½ Dollar]

View attachment 27863

remember he is one of the longest reigning champs in boxing today - 3rd in world; 2nd in america behind wilder although gary has beaten more champs than wilder

Sad state of affairs all the way around.

 

[Creflo ½ Dollar]

The return of RiGOAT


And he is exciting now..maybe due to old age but I doubt it because he never really moved around to begin with... I don’t acknowledge that L to Loma at 130...RiGOAT still that best fighter at 118-122...Him and Monster would be the GOAT fight

 

[patscorpio]

Tug is a good fighter that I have been trying to keep tabs on. Don't know if he is ready for the big stage yet but wouldn't be surprised if he won

Tug is Asian..which means he is capable of beating Gary...and he is mongolian..all the few mongolian cats ive ever seen fight are teak tough

 

[patscorpio]

 

[patscorpio]

velez - 130.5 - 1/2 lb over
arboleda - 129.5