ESPN+

Otto Wallin Eyes Tyson Fury Rematch, Feels Fury Is ‘Hesitant’ To Accept

Otto Wallin

Otto Wallin recently opened up about his interest in a rematch with Tyson Fury and why he feels that Fury is hesitant to run it back.

Mikey Williams/Top Rank

A trilogy bout between Tyson Fury (30-0-1, 29 KOs) and Deontay Wilder (42-1-1, 41 KOs), which would’ve undoubtedly been one of the biggest fights of 2020, no longer seems to be on the table for the year’s end. 

Last week, Fury told The Athletic’s Mike Coppinger that he would no longer be fighting Wilder in December and that he would be returning on December 5 in the United Kingdom against an opponent that has yet to be determined. 

And while we await the announcement of who Fury will fight, Sweden’s Otto Wallin (20-1-1, 13 KOs), who opened up a hellacious cut over Fury’s eye and pushed “The Gypsy King” to his limits in a 2019 bout that Fury ultimately edged out, has expressed his interest in a rematch. 

“I think that I deserve the rematch,” said Wallin in an interview with Round By Round Boxing. “And considering how our fight was, he was really badly cut in two places and if I were to have those cuts, the fight would’ve been stopped. I feel like they should’ve stopped that fight and I would’ve been the winner on a TKO.

“But at the same time, that’s how boxing works sometimes, so I’m not bitter about it, but I do think I deserve a rematch. So now that Wilder is not going to fight him, I think that I deserve it.”

While it remains unclear whether or not Wallin is in the running to land another fight with Fury, there’s no denying that he’s deserving of it. In the first fight, the 29 year old started strong, finding success with his boxing and body attacks before opening up the cut, which became an issue for Fury throughout the bout. 

In the end, Fury made adjustments and fought well down the stretch. And although he may have come up short, the fact that Wallin found success early on and was able to spend 12 rounds in the ring with the champion leads him to believe that he would be better prepared for a rematch. 

“One thing is the experience,” said Wallin. “I’ve done it one time, now I know I can do it and maybe I’ll be a little more ready for the next time. I think I probably went after the cut a little too much, but I knew when I saw that cut that it was going to get stopped. If I hit him with just one more shot, they would stop it, so that’s what was going through my mind. But I think that maybe played into Fury’s favor a bit because he has good defense and good upper-body movement, so If I could do it again, I would’ve stayed down to the body and would’ve kept doing what I was doing.”

Despite the fact that he won on the cards, the fight wasn’t an easy bout for The Gypsy King by any means. And considering how it played out, Wallin isn’t fully confident that a rematch will happen next. In fact, he feels as if Fury may be a bit hesitant to do it again. 

“I think he’s kind of funny because he’s always calling out everybody and mentioning all different names all the time, but I don’t think he’s mentioned my name once since our fight, so that has me questioning everything a little bit,” said Wallin.

“But hopefully he’ll come around and see that I deserve a rematch. I think they might be a little hesitant, to be honest knowing how the fight was and he was cut bad and stuff like that. So I don’t know what’s going on.”

While Fury has never seemed to be the type of fighter that avoids fights, Wallin’s idea that the champion’s team may be a bit wary of accepting a rematch is certainly a possibility considering what would be on the line for Fury.

Should he win in December, he has a deal in place for two fights to take place next year with fellow Englishman and three-belt champion Anthony Joshua (23-1, 21 KOs), who must also get by Kubrat Pulev in December to make the title unification bout a reality.

Aside from fighting Fury last year, Wallin has also fought Joshua twice when the two were amateurs in addition to having sparred with him as a pro. 

And although Wallin admits that he’d love to be the one to spoil those plans by rematching and beating Fury in December, he also admitted that it’s a matchup that excites him, and one, given his history with both men, which he favors Fury in. 

“I know Joshua pretty well because I’ve fought him twice in the amateurs and we’ve been sparring as pros also,” said Wallin. “He’s a strong guy and he’s got great power, but I think Fury’s size and boxing skills will be tough for Joshua because I think Fury can make him look really bad and make him miss and make him pay. Fury’s a really good boxer and you’ve got to really suck it up and just go to him and be ready to take some shots to give some. I haven’t really seen that from Joshua all the time.”

Ultimately, the immediate future for Wallin is a bit unclear and that is no fault of his own. To him, his plans and goals, both short term and long term, are clear.

He’d like to fight before the end of the year, for example. And if he can’t get a rematch with Fury, he has his sights set on the division’s other top names, including Wilder.

But perhaps more than anything, he has his sights set on winning a title, both for himself and for his country. 

“I would say a title [excites me the most],” said Wallin. “I’ve always dreamed of fighting for a world title and we haven’t had a heavyweight world champion coming out of Sweden since the 50s. It’s been a while and we’ve only had one, so I want to be the second one coming out of Sweden to show kids back home that it’s possible to become Heavyweight world champion even if you’re from Sweden.”

Comments
To Top