Chris Colbert: Primetime is His Time

By Matt Benoliel

What is going on with the boxing fans at Mandalay Bay this evening? They boo when they should cheer.

Hear me out: In round three of Colbert Vs. Mercado, following some slight showboating and a mere four second lull in the action, a low chorus of boos arose from likely a misguided section of fans. For the subject of their discontent, Brooklyn’s Chris “Primetime” Colbert, is perhaps the most talented and exciting prospect to emerge in the lighter divisions since Vasily Lomachenko.

Possibly some fans were growing impatient waiting for the main event of the evening, Jermell Charlo vs. Jorge Cota, or the upcoming Guillermo Rigondeaux vs. Julio Ceja, and I like to think that sometime in the future, those booing fans will realize exactly who they were booing.

Chris Colbert, just twenty-two years old and a natural southpaw, came out in round one in an orthodox stance, against a dangerous opponent who hasn’t been stopped in his professional career-Alberto Mercado, thirty-one years old with a record of 16-2. Mercado also fights southpaw, and conventional boxing wisdom would recommend that Colbert fight that way as well. Right then and there, most boxing fans would understand that they are witnessing someone special.

By round four, Colbert had won the crowd over and the boos stopped. Colbert was out punching his opponent and ahead on all the score cards. He was relaxed and confident, and much more.

Colbert’s athleticism is world class. His offensive skills, the speed of his jab, the number of power punches he throws and lands, seem about equal whether he is fighting southpaw or orthodox. His defense seems to be a little tighter in the southpaw stance, but by any measure, this man is hard to hit. On top of his ability to seamlessly flow from right-handed to left, Colbert is equally comfortable in the center of the ring or on the ropes. In the eighth and final round, Alberto Mercado, knowing he needed a knockout to win, came out swinging, and backed Colbert against the ropes. Colbert covered up and allowed Mercado to take all the shots he wanted, never landing cleanly, and in true rope-a-dope fashion, Mercado punched himself out. Colbert smiled and seemed to say, “I know you’re tired,” and waved Mercado back towards him against the ropes.

At one point in the seventh round, the ring commentators, who were questioning this young man’s ability before the bout (he looks good, but can he box?), were discussing Colbert’s previous nickname, “Lil’ BHop,” after Bernard Hopkins, and Colbert, while walking down Mercado, turned to them, smiled, and announced, “Primetime,” the new nickname he adopted for this, his first primetime bout in Sin City, with the toughest of boxing crowds. Las Vegas. Primetime. His time.