Featherweight Tugstsogt Nyambayar Desperately Needs To Steady His Professional Career
Just a short two years ago, featherweight fighter Tugstsogt “King Tug” Nyambayar (12-2, 9 KO’s) was on top of the world. He was undefeated and had just secured his first shot at a world title. Sadly for him, it was all bad after he slid through the ropes to compete with WBC world featherweight champion Gary Russell Jr. While he did make a great account of himself, he soundly was defeated by way of unanimous decision in that February 8, 2020 dustup.
King Tug hoped to rebound in impressive fashion versus the little-heralded Cobia Breedy only to scrape past with a split decision. Just shy of a year past the Breedy match, Nyambayar was comprehensively out-boxed and out-classed by verbose Brooklyn boxer Chris Colbert. Now, fresh off the Colbert strafing, King Tug hopes to get back into the win column and correct his faltering professional career. Ironically, the Mongolian will be competing on a card headlined by Gary Russell Jr.
EVERYTHING TO LOSE
Of course this is not where Nyambayar foresaw his professional quest taking him when he penned the bout with Russell. Even with the pitfalls that he has suffered however, all is not lost. King Tug remains ranked #8 (WBC) and thereby retains strategic positioning in the division. Yet, Tugstsogt Nyambayar could lose this fragile foothold if he does not defeat “Vicious” Vic Pasillas (16-1, 9 KO). Like King Tug, Pasillas will enter the bout following a loss; unlike Nyambayar, it’s the first of his career.
Without question, this is a must-win bout for each competitor. The Mongolian cannot afford to drop three losses, let alone to an unranked adversary. Likewise, Pasillas would have extensive damage to repair to his marketability if he suffers back-to-back losses. Given this backdrop, each man has more than enough motivation to give their all and leave everything in the ring! Let’s see who wants it more when Nyambayar and Pasillas collide on January 22.
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By: Bakari Simpson
