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Tugstsogt Nyambayar Faces Sakaria Lukas In SHOWTIME
Opener This Sat. In Atlantic City, NJ
Hard-hitting featherweight contender Tugstsogt “King Tug”
Nyambayar will now take on once-beaten contender Sakaria
Lukas in the 10-round telecast opener live on SHOWTIME this
Saturday, January 22 in a Premier Boxing Champions event
from Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa in Atlantic City, N.J.
The SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING telecast begins at 9 p.m.
ET/6 p.m. PT and is headlined by WBC Featherweight World
Champion Gary Russell Jr. defending his title against top
contender and WBC mandatory challenger Mark Magsayo. Super
lightweight contenders Subriel Matías and Petros Ananyan
meet for a rematch in the 12-round co-main event.
Vic Pasillas was originally scheduled to face Nyambayar, but
was forced to withdraw after a positive COVID-19 test.
Nyambayar (12-2, 9 KOs) won a silver medal representing his
native Mongolia in the 2012 Olympics and now lives in
Southern California, where he’s trained by John Pullman. The
29-year-old ascended the featherweight rankings after his
extensive amateur career with victories over then unbeaten
Harmonito Dela Torre and former interim champion Oscar
Escandon. He earned his first world title shot by defeating
former champion Claudio Marrero in January 2019, before
dropping his championship bout against Russell on SHOWTIME.
Nyambayar returns to the featherweight division after
challenging top 130-pounder Chris Colbert in a July contest
he lost by decision.
Lukas (25-1, 17 KOs) steps into the ring looking for his
third straight win to put himself in position to vie for a
world title. A native of Omuthitugwalwani, Namibia, his U.S.
debut came in December 2020 as he dropped a 10-round
decision against Mexican contender Isaac Avelar. Lukas, who
has fought professionally since 2011, bounced back from the
defeat by knocking out Mario Macias Orozco in February 2021
before earning a decision victory over Marco Antonio Chable
in March 2021.
The non-televised undercard will include unbeaten super
welterweight Evan Holyfield (8-0, 6 KOs), son of legendary
heavyweight champion Evander Holyfield, taking on Virginia’s
Chris Rollins (5-3-1, 4 KOs) in a six-round fight, plus
Philadelphia’s Rasheen Brown (11-0, 7 KOs) in a six-round
featherweight duel against fellow unbeaten Katsuma Akitsugi
(7-0, 1 KO).
Rounding out the lineup is Puerto Rico’s Abimael Ortiz
(9-1-1, 5 KOs) in an eight-round super bantamweight bout,
unbeaten middleweight LeShawn Rodríquez (12-0, 9 KOs)
battling Atlanta’s Sixto Suazo (9-2-1, 7 KOs) for
eight-rounds of action and the pro debut of Washington, D.C.
native Max Garland in a four-round welterweight contest.
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