Bob Arum issues warning to Tyson Fury fans
Top Rank promoter Bob Arum warned Tyson Fury fans not to underestimate his forthcoming, widely unknown, opponent, Otto Wallin.
He tweeted on August 13, not long after the fight was finally confirmed to take place in Las Vegas on September 14, "Fans who think Fury has an easy fight on his hands against Otto Wallin are mistaken. The undefeated Wallin is a hell of a fighter. I am old enough to remember another Swede – Ingemar Johansson – who stunned the world when he knocked out Floyd Patterson at Yankee Stadium in 1959."
The 28-year-old unbeaten Swede actually counts his fellow countryman Ingemar Johansson as his inspiration growing up, claiming that his hero was, “The baddest man on the planet!”.
Otto started boxing as an amateur, aged 16, and twice fought Anthony Joshua between 2008-2010, losing both bouts on points. He has since struck up a friendship with AJ, despite putting his name in the hat to fight him on June 1 in New York after stablemate Jarrell Miller withdrew, and has been brought in as a sparring partner for the Brit on many occasions.
The WBA #4 is currently unbeaten in 21 fights, one of those was a 'No Contest', with 13 KOs. He is a southpaw who stands at 6’5” with a 78” reach and is also ranked at IBF #11, IBO #16 and WBC #30. He is managed by Zachary Levin and promoted by Dmitriy Salita, both from New York. His career highlight was in April 2018 when he outpointed his countryman Adrian Granat for the EBU European Union heavyweight title.
He is relatively unknown to the wider boxing fans because of his bad luck trying to crack America. His US debut in April against Nick Kisner ended in a no contest when his opponent was cut in the first round. He then planned to fight BJ Flores last month, but more bad luck struck when his opponent was not ‘medically cleared to compete’ just days before their scheduled bout.
His idol, Jens Ingemar Johansson, was an Olympic silver medallist and world heavyweight champion from Gothenburg, best known for his thrilling trilogy with the legendary Floyd Patterson.
'Ingo' competed from 1952 to 1963 and held the world heavyweight title from 1959 to 1960, by defeating Floyd Patterson via third-round stoppage, after flooring him seven times in that round. He was just the fifth heavyweight champion born outside the United States at the time. Going into the heavyweight world championship contest, Johansson was a huge underdog and was awarded the Hickok Belt for the shock victory and becoming the top professional athlete of the year – the only non-American to do so in the belt's entire 27-year existence. He was also named the Associated Press Male Athlete of the Year and Sports Illustrated Sportsman of the Year.
The world champion Swede also held the European heavyweight title twice, from 1956 to 1958 and from 1962 to 1963. As an amateur, he won a silver medal in the heavyweight division at the 1952 Summer Olympics. He affectionately named his right fist "toonder and lightning" for its concussive power (it was also called "Ingo's bingo" and the "Hammer of Thor"), and in 2003 he was ranked at No. 99 on The Ring magazine's list of the 100 greatest punchers of all time.