BBN find 10 interesting facts you might not already know about Tyson Fury’s next opponent Otto Wallin
Wallin clashes with Fury in Las Vegas on September 14 for Lineal heavyweight supremacy, but to the general public the WBA #4 is relatively unknown.
So BBN decided to dig up some fun facts on the Swede ahead of the unbeaten heavyweight battle where someone’s ‘0’ has got to:
1. Otto Wallin, born on November 21, 1990, grew up in a small town in Sweden, Sundsvall, where boxing was banned until 2007.
2. He started boxing as an amateur, aged 16, winning his first amateur tournament shortly afterwards, the Swedish beginner championship, which resulted in the youngster landing a coveted place on the Swedish national team.
3. His biggest inspiration is Olympic silver medallist and world heavyweight champion Ingemar Johansson. Otto plans to follow in the footsteps of his heroic countryman, claiming that, “He was the baddest man on the planet!”
4. Wallin lost twice on points to Anthony Joshua in the amateurs between 2008-2010. Both boxers were inexperienced in their first fight, having only had around 10 fights each, at the time. Since then, AJ has brought Wallin in as a sparring partner for his training camps as a professional.
5. On the subject of Anthony Joshua, Otto Wallin threw his name in the hat to fight the unified champion when Jarrell Miller withdrew, after failing three drug tests ahead of their scheduled June 1 fight in New York. He asked for the fight, but Andy Ruiz Jr got the golden ticket instead.
6. Wallin is currently unbeaten in 21 fights, with 13 KOs. He is a southpaw who stands at 6’5” with a 78” reach. He is world ranked at WBA #4, IBF #11, IBO #16 and WBC #30. He is managed by Zachary Levin and promoted by Dmitriy Salita, both from New York.
7. He has stopped Irineu Beato Costa Junior (who has also lost to Dillian Whyte, David Price and Joseph Parker) and beaten Raphael Zumbano (who has lost to Joshua and Ruiz Jr).
8. Wallin’s career highlight was in April 2018 when he outpointed his countryman Adrian Granat for the EBU European Union heavyweight title.
9. His US debut in April against Nick Kisner ended in a no contest when his opponent was cut in the first round. Wallin then planned to fight BJ Flores last month, who was not ‘medically cleared to compete’ just days before their scheduled bout.
10. He lists ‘The White Rhino’ Dave Allen as a British fighter he rates highly and would like to fight someday.