Chris Colbert looked impressive last night in scoring a dominant 12 round unanimous decision victory over late replacement foe Tugstsogt Nyambayar, now 12-2(9) (who came in when Yuriorkis Gamboa fell out ill, the man from Mongolia having previously been beaten only by Gary Russell Jr). The unbeaten 130 pounder from Brooklyn showed off his “Muhammad Ali skills,” and he improved to 16-0(6).
The 24-year-old also retained his WBA interim belt. Colbert has the look of a special fighter, even if he is no huge puncher, and post-fight last night he said he’d love to both headline a “stacked card” at The Barclays Centre in Brooklyn, New York, and fight Leo Santa Cruz. Colbert said he’d love to fight Santa Cruz, who has “an awesome fanbase,” and he would like to fight him next. FightHype briefly caught up with Santa Cruz, who was at last night’s fight, and the Mexican warrior who was last seen suffering a quite nasty one-punch KO at the hands of Gervonta Davis said he’d be open to the fight, that he feels his pressure would be too much for Colbert.
It’s an interesting fight, but is this one a little too risky a comeback fight for 32-year-old Santa Cruz? How good/great can Colbert be? The lower weights really are full of talent these days, at 130, 135, 140 and 147 in particular. Colbert definitely sees himself as the next dominant world champion at his current weight class.
Colbert no doubt gave the boxing purists something to enjoy and appreciate last night, his fast hands and his fine boxing brain serving him well. Now a pro for six years, Colbert does seem ready for the bigger fights, the really testing fights (his biggest wins are probably his KO win over Miguel Beltran Jr and his decision win over Jezreel Corrales). Does Santa Cruz fit the bill as far as being Colbert’s biggest fight to date as well as his most testing fight to date? Let’s see just who Colbert is matched with next.
