PBC on FOX results: Tugstsogt Nyambayar wins WBC eliminator

By Scott Christ

Tugstsogt Nyambayar started and finished strong, and that was enough to hold off a mid-rounds rally from Claudio Marrero tonight in Brooklyn, with Nyambayar winning a decision in a WBC featherweight eliminator.

Scores for the fight were 114-113, 115-112, and 116-111, all for “King Tug.” BLH had it 115-112 for Nyambayar.

Nyambayar (11-0, 9 KO) had to go the 12-round distance for the first time in his career, but got the job done and showed he’s capable over a full 36 minutes. He shook Marrero (23-3, 17 KO) in the third round, causing him to do a bit of the ol’ stanky leg, but otherwise Marrero stood up to Nyambayar’s vaunted power pretty well.

After a really strong first five rounds for the former Olympic silver medalist from Mongolia, Marrero did battle his way back into the fight with some good work in the middle rounds, but it just wasn’t enough, as Nyambayar got going again in the final rounds and held off the charge.

There was a bit of scorecard drama in the 10th round, when Marrero lost a point for hitting on the break.

Statistically, it was a very close fight. CompuBox had Nyambayar landing 119 of 509 (23%) of his total punches, and 109 of 411 (27%) of his power shots. Marrero landed 114 of 714 (16%) total punches, and 102 of 369 (28%) on power punches. Marrero did throw a ton of jabs, but landed almost none of them (12 of 345).