Tyson Fury vs Otto Wallin – who wins?
Lineal heavyweight king Tyson Fury (28-0-1) faces unbeaten Swedish southpaw Otto Wallin (20-0) on September 14 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
28-year-old Wallin, managed by New York promoter Dmitriy Salita, is the current EBU European Union heavyweight champion, ranked no.5 with the WBA. The aim is for Frank Warren's unbeaten former heavyweight world champion to build back up to a lucrative rematch with long-reigning WBC champion Deontay Wilder in February next year.
First, ‘The Gypsy King’ has to get past his 30th assignment as a pro against another unbeaten, world-ranked fighter in Vegas. The Mancunian despatched of Tom Schwarz in two short rounds in his last fight in June, and many are expecting the same scenario in the Wallin fight, with Fury an overwhelming favourite at the bookies with odds of 1/33.
BBN asked their panel of experts for their view:
Monty Ogilvie
Scottish Area title contender
"I'll say Fury by a wide decision – like 118-110.
I think he will showboat and clown about a bit and maybe lose a round or two, but otherwise a dominant display."
Dmitriy Salita
American promoter
"I promote Otto Wallin and he is in great condition, physically and mentally. He is focused on the task at hand and is going into the ring September 14th to show his world class abilities with the goal of scoring the upset. That’s why Heavyweight boxing is so exciting because when two big guys put on the gloves, you never know."
Kem Ljungquist
Unbeaten heavyweight
"I don't give Otto much of a chance. I think Tyson's experience and movement will work in his favour, but anyone can surprise you in boxing!"
Robbie Davies Jr
British super-lightweight champion
"Can't really say too much on it as don't no Otto at all. But Tyson seems to be man on a mission. I can see a clear points win, possibly mid to late stoppage for Tyson whilst showing his entertainment side at the same time."
Raza Hamza
Unbeaten featherweight prospect
"I think Fury will do what he does best and he’ll beat Wallin by knockout. I think it will be all over during rounds 4 to 7."
Ryan Clark
Co-Founder of buymyfight.com
"Fury will dance around for a few rounds to make it look a bit more competitive than it really is. Then up the tempo from about round 3-4 to show off his movement and reflexes, adding showboating to the mix.
Round 7 the ref will step in as the fight becomes uncompetitive with Wallin throwing nothing back from too many Fury combination flurries.
With that much detail, I suppose I’d better put a tenner on R7 now!"
Ryan Walsh
British featherweight champion
"I’m going for a Tyson Fury mid to late stoppage win (rounds 7-10).
I foresee Tyson in typical unpredictable form and entertaining his travelling fans. With the carrot dangling for a Wilder rematch, I don’t see any chance of complacency
I think he will go southpaw to upset the natural southpaw, outbox him, then ultimately stop the far less talented and experienced younger man. I expect a similar display to Schwarz, with Wallin lasting a little longer due to that stance alone. Southpaws are more natural counter-punchers. It’s why I love to watch both Hagler and Pacquioa, there’s always exceptions."
Paul Stevenson
Head Coact at Everton Red Triangle
"It’s hard to see past an easy night for Fury.
Wallin isn’t a particularly big heavyweight in this modern era, although he’s no midget, he isn’t a puncher and hasn’t got any big wins, and from the footage I’ve seen is pretty workmanlike and unspectacular.
He’ll be looking to do an Ingemar Johansson to Fury’s Floyd Patterson but Johanssen could bang and Patterson was a little fragile. A puncher’s chance? if a Deontay Wilder couldn’t keep Fury on the floor then I’d be surprised if Wallin could, but boxing is boxing.
Fury by KO inside 4, or earlier if he feels like it."
Tim Rickson
Sports Agent
"I know that Wallin wasn't their first choice of opponent. Trainer Ben Davison said they wanted Jarrell Miller, but he couldn't get his license in time; they approached Kubrat Pulev, Alexander Povetkin, Trevor Bryan and even Adam Kownacki, but none of those fights could be made, so any criticism over the choice of opponent is harsh, in my view. After all the top contenders were unavailable, they managed to secure an unbeaten European heavyweight champion, ranked in the top 5 with the WBA.
Wallin is aggressive, he'll try to come forward but I can see him struggling to get close to Tyson, due to the size difference and, of course, because of Fury's superior defence and awkward style. I expect Tyson to keep him guessing, maybe starting as southpaw after his blistering second round against Tom Schwarz.
Wallin has got decent upper body movement and is quite sharp and fast, so he may be able to land a few at range early on, but I think his punches will soon become telegraphed as he bets increasingly frustrated at not landing anything meaningful and Tyson will be able to counter him more and more until he hurts him and then the writing will be on the wall.
I can see an early finish within the first four rounds for Tyson."
Mick Kane
Boxing Writer
"This to me has a feel of a warm up fight for Fury before, hopefully, the rematch with Deontay Wilder.
I think it will be very similar to the Ton Schwarz fight. A fight to showcase Tyson, show America his razmataz and his fluid style.
I expect Fury to dominate from start to finish, the finish being relatively quick in the third round.
Then we can look ahead to the massive fight with Wilder, all going to plan."
Bolu Kareem
Middleweight debutant
"Tyson Fury by unanimous decision, he is far too skilful and experienced and he is too hard to hit."
Lewis Calvert
Editor of @BigWriteHook
"Tyson Fury vs. Otto Wallin is an absolute walk-over job for The Gypsy King and for his team to pick such an unknown and unproven opponent is almost disrespectful to boxing fans. It's a mismatch of such staggering proportions it barely deserves a predictions article.
In fact, rather than pointlessly break down this one-sided cash grab, here’s some quotes by Otto Mann, from the Simpsons, instead, which I suspect they will be more entertaining than the fight itself: “My name is Otto; I love to get blotto”, “Bye little dudes. Don't learn anything I wouldn't learn!” and “Hey this is one of the planets in Star Wars.”
Tyson Fury is an elite level fighter. ‘Too Fast’ is too talented to be in these kind of fights, but I suspect, such is the money he is being paid for so little risk, he is too smart not to be either.
Round 6, Fury KO. Then can we talk about Wilder?"
Chris Glover
Boxing Writer
"Tyson takes him out when he wants to, for me.
Otto is better than people give him credit for, but Fury is special and I expect him to put on a show and eventually stop the show."
Kieran Gething
Welsh Area super-lightweight champion
"I think it’s almost a given Fury is going to win this fight. But I don’t just see that, I see him winning well. I think he really looks good and dominates everything that happens in a short bout!
Fury to win within three!"
Sergio Michel
American singer, songwriter, guitarist
"What can be said other than "dossers will be shown the door", as usual when The Gypsy King defeats Otto Wallin.
Wallin is a live underdog and that will be his undoing. He has good KO power, especially in his straight left. His style will put him in a position to attempt to stalk Fury, but the height and skill of Fury will cancel that. If (when) Fury puts Wallin on the back foot; he'll easily secure another TKO victory due to Wallin's non-existent defense."
Steve Wood
Promoter – VIP Promotions
"Another given for Tyson Fury and being honest I am not sure how he is getting away with such opponents for the money being paid and dressed up for PPV – but good luck to him. Tyson is a quality operator, as we know, and really he stops this whenever he wants, I expect him to get a few rounds out, so predicting a round 6 stoppage."
Ben Day
Southern Area super-lightweight champion
"Otto who? Ok, it looks an impressive record but he hasn’t boxed anyone of note, having said that anything can happen in the heavyweight game, but I’m sure Tyson Fury will outbox him to a points win victory."