Chris Colbert sinks back into a plush sofa donning an orange hoodie which matches his fiery orange hair. Coming off a long flight to Los Angeles on Wednesday, the 24-year-old is a bit fatigued.
However, his eyes widen when asked what Fourth of July felt like as a kid growing up in Brooklyn, NY.
“Fireworks, good barbeques, food, hanging out with the older heads,” Colbert reminisces while on a Zoom conference call with DAZN News.
This Fourth of July will be different. The undefeated Colbert will be looking to defend his interim WBA super featherweight title against rugged Mongolian contender Tugstsogt Nyambayar at the Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson, Calif. on Saturday night.
“I'm just going to have to start up the fireworks July 3 ,” says Colbert. “I'm used to being in the hood showing fireworks on Fourth of July, not being on a plane on my way home.”
Colbert is counting on having his latest dominating victory in tow for that flight back to New York City.
Despite the flash, heap of mouthwatering boxing skills, including pinpoint punching precision, and style points, Colbert doesn’t feel like there’s enough respect on his name within the sport. That’s precisely why he believes he’ll be leaving LA with merely another win, but not much else.
If anything, he can already anticipate the post-fight criticism that he’s likely to draw, considering that Nyambayar is a replacement for Yuriorkis Gamboa, his originally-slated opponent who suffered an injury.
“I'll be 16-0, that's about it because, you know, they don't give me my credit anyway,” Colbert offers. “They're going to start making excuses — '(Nayambayar) was too small. He was a last-minute replacement.' So, I'm not expecting much out of this.
“I might gain a couple of more followers on Instagram, Twitter,” he adds. “That's about it, really. I'll make more money my next fight. Other than that, they don't give me my respect.”
But for all the respect that Colbert (15-0, 6 KOs) claims that critics don’t give him, he’s more than willing to heap it on himself, as he’ll stack his body of work through 15 pro fights up against anybody.
“They don't respect what I've done in my 15 fights,” he continues asserting. “Because if that were the case, I'd be a big superstar already.
“Nobody got a better 15 fights than me — Names and dominant performances.”
Colbert’s last four fights have seen him run through respectable fighters in dominating fashion, whether it was his unanimous decision over Alberto Mercado in June 2019, a first-round KO of Miguel Beltran Jr. that September, a unanimous decision nod over Jezreel Corrales in January 2020 or an 11 -round TKO of Jaime Arboleda in December.
The last victory was especially scintillating, as Colbert dropped Arboleda three times in the 11 round, including piercing him with a laser-like seven-punch combination, before referee Steve Willis jumped in and rewarded him with the TKO.
Before Colbert steps into the ring to clash with Nyambayar on Saturday night. Showtime will broadcast and stream a replay of Gervonta Davis’ thrilling 11 -round TKO of Mario Barrios from last weekend. And that’s interesting, considering that Colbert is the WBA interim junior lightweight champion and Davis owns the WBA (Super) junior lightweight title, spelling that the two could eventually clash unless “Tank” opts to continue progressing at 140 pounds.
Perhaps that’s the kind of fight that would push Colbert’s profile on an elevator up to match his already-omnipotent skills.
Until then, though, another dose of fireworks from Colbert can’t hurt his cause. Although boxing regulars might already know, he plans to use any and every platform as a stage to open eyes.
“‘Oh my God. He's an entertainer,’” Colbert says when asked what he’d like a casual fan to say if watching him for the first time Saturday night. “That's what we get paid to do.
“I'm bringing the style, the flash, the speed, the power ... I'm bringing everything Saturday night. My vest is fully loaded with a lot of ammo and I'm ready to let it go.”
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Chris Colbert has talked about overcoming a bout with homelessness before .
But with each fight and subsequent win under his belt, Colbert has traversed far from that predicament.
“I just got my family on my back, my son on my shoulders, making sure he doesn't live the lifestyle I lived,” Colbert says. “I enjoyed my life after coming up going through the hard times. My main goal is to make sure I don't go back to where I went to. There's no way possible that that's happening.”
His three-year-old son Prince is constant motivation toward that.
“It just gives me that extra boost to make sure I know I stay on track to not take food out of my son's mouth,” says Colbert about fatherhood. “I want to make sure he's set for life. He don't ever have to work a day in his life if he don't want to. It's an amazing feeling.”
And Colbert is doing his part to use his platform to plant seeds to see his community flourish as well.
He has used his “Prime Time” in-ring moniker as the namesake for his Prime Time Soldiers youth football program in his hometown of Brooklyn, touting to “get kids off the street” and serving ages 8-14.
And then there’s the grand opening of his Prime Time Chicken spot in Garfield, New Jersey, which promises “Flavor that packs (a punch).”
It also dangles menu items such as the KNOCK OUT Chicken Sandwich and Sugar Ray Wings, with sizes ranging from lightweight to super heavyweight.
That kind of personality and passion is also on display with each one of Colbert’s fights by simply looking at his hair. The 24-year-old regularly dyes his hair to spark awareness toward a particular cause.
For his fight against Arboleda, Colbert rocked a neon pink do.
Saturday night it will be orange for multiple sclerosis (MS) awareness — something that Colbert was inspired to do after a friend of his was diagnosed with the disease.
The more Colbert has in-ring success, the more he can amplify these contributions.
And he’s looking forward to increasing that cause Saturday night with all eyes on him in what’s a fairly quiet combat sports weekend.
Colbert smiles.
“Prime Time on Showtime.”