That was not how the night was supposed to go.
Lineal Heavyweight champion Tyson Fury (29-0-1, 20 KOs) dug deeper than expected on the night of September 14, 2019 against Otto Wallin (20-1, 13 KOs) at the T-Mobile Arena in Las, Vegas Nevada.
On paper, it looked easy. Wallin wasn’t in the same league as Fury. He hadn’t fought a full contest in over a year and he hadn’t fought anyone of note either.
This contest was looked upon as a joke. Simply a warm up for Fury on ESPN+ before he took on WBC champion Deontay Wilder.
The Swedish born Wallin was an unknown fighter coming in. With the performance he put on however, he surely won’t be forgotten anytime soon.
Wallin is a big man, standing at 6’5″, with a 78-inch reach, but he was small when compared to Fury. It would have been an easy night for Fury to stay on the outside and use his ridiculous seven-inch reach advantage, but Wallin made it an inside fight from the very beginning.
Fury was pushed back and took some big shots. Fury is known for his elusiveness, but for the first time in quite some time, he was getting hit clean.
The beginning of this contest was a tricky one for Fury. Things only got more complicated as Wallin landed a left hand, which opened up a massive cut on the right eye of Fury.
At first glance, it was thought to be from a clash of heads, but upon further review it was deemed to have come from a punch. Seeing his opponent vulnerable sparked something in Wallin as he began to uncork huge shots which rattled Fury.
“I got cut earlier on the eyelid and changed the fight completely.”
Things seemed bleak for the champion as he was constantly pawing at his injured eye. Looks of concern from the ring doctor and Fury’s team came across their faces.
No longer did Fury decide to stay on the outside and outbox his man. Instead, he took his game to another level and really began to punish Wallin.
The second half of the contest was one sided as Wallin fought on but was starting to receive a beating. It was becoming clear that Wallin was slowing down, while Fury was really getting into a flow.
With the match seemingly slipping away from Wallin, he gave it one more final push in the last round. It paid off as he hurt Fury with several left hands. But it was a case of too little, too late as the final bell rang, stopping the momentum of Wallin.
All three judges who were watching this contest were in agreement as they scored it 116-112, 117-111 and 118-110 in favor of the Lineal champion, Tyson Fury.
As for Wallin, although he came up short, he was extremely proud of his performance.
“I gave it everything I had,” said Wallin during his post fight interview. “I made myself proud tonight.”
The sort of performance that Wallin had should place him on the short list of Heavyweight contenders going forward.
As for Fury, this cut will force him to sit out the remainder of 2019. His 2020 however, should include a date with WBC champion Deontay Wilder, whom Fury emphatically called out.
“Deontay Wilder, I want you next, bum!”
