Gary Russell Jr.’s lengthy layoffs usually are a prominent topic of discussion whenever the talented featherweight champion defends his title.

On Saturday night, however, Russell will encounter an opponent who’s been out of the ring for an even longer amount of time than him. Tugstsogt Nyambayar, the mandatory challenger for Russell’s WBC 126-pound championship, hasn’t fought in over a year, not since out-pointing Claudio Marrero in a 12-round elimination match last January 26 at Barclays Center in Brooklyn.

Russell last competed May 18, when he stopped Spain’s Kiko Martinez in the fifth round of a voluntary title defense at Barclays Center. Mongolia’s Nyambayar had hoped to challenge Russell much sooner than this, but Russell wanted to take a bout before facing the 2012 Olympic silver medalist.

“Basically, I was just waiting for Gary Russell,” Nyambayar told BoxingScene.com through a translator. “I didn’t wanna take any fights in between. I wanted to fight more often and I wanted to fight him sooner. We were just waiting for the right moment to fight.”

Nyambayar thought he would get this title shot either late in the summer or early in the fall. The Los Angeles resident was forced to wait until Saturday night, when Showtime will televise the Russell-Nyambayar match as the main event of a three-bout broadcast from PPL Center in Allentown, Pennsylvania (9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT).

“I didn’t expect to have to wait this much time to fight him,” said Nyambayar, who won the IBO title when he defeated Marrero. “We were discussing having this fight in the summer. I don’t know what the hold-up was. It just took longer. But I had a great training camp. I don’t think I’ll have any ring rust in this fight.”

The 27-year-old Nyambayar changed trainers during his long layoff – from John Pullman to Ismael Salas.

“I like Ismael Salas’ training methods,” Nyambayar said. “He does a lot of work with the mitts and he has worked on my range, how to get the distance from the opponents. He’s one of the best mitts guys in boxing.”

Handicappers have installed the 31-year-old Russell (30-1, 18 KOs), of Capitol Heights, Maryland, a 4-1 favorite to beat Nyambayar (11-0, 9 KOs). The 2008 U.S. Olympian will make just the fifth defense of the WBC belt he won when he stopped Mexico’s Jhonny Gonzalez in the fourth round of their March 2015 bout at Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas.

“Gary Russell is a great champion,” Nyambayar said. “He has speed, he has power and he’s an all-around great fighter. He has awesome skills. He’s the toughest opponent I’ve faced in my career.” 

Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.