Tyson Fury will fight Otto Wallin next, but this boxing champion is his real target
One can compare Tyson Fury’s recent fight schedule to a UEFA Nations Cup soccer tournament. His previous and next opponents are from Europe.
Not only do Sweden’s Otto Wallin and Germany’s Tom Schwarz share a continental origin but many fight experts place them in another common category — easy steppingstones for Fury as the former heavyweight champion and top contender targets a rematch with reigning titleholder Deontay Wilder.
Four months after his second-round stoppage of Schwarz, Fury will face Wallin Sept. 14 in Las Vegas. The bout will be Fury’s second since he signed a promotional deal with Top Rank.
A native of England, Fury enjoyed a spike in popularity with U.S. fight fans after he fought Wilder to a draw in their exciting title fight last December. Fury out-boxed Wilder for most of the bout but absorbed two knockdowns — one in the 12th round that nearly finished him. Fury beat the 10-count and traded shots with Wilder before the final bell.
Fans clamored for an immediate rematch because of the dramatic finish and close result. However, boxing kingpins rarely satisfy the public’s desires.
Instead, Fury’s immediate post-Wilder fight docket features matches with opponents such as Schwarz and Wallin. His deal with Top Rank showcases Fury on ESPN thanks to the promotional company’s tie-in with the cable network to broadcast its fights. As a result, Fury enjoys repeated exposure on ESPN highlight and interview shows to hype his fights with prohibitive underdogs Schwarz and Wallin.
“Anyone who wants to criticize Otto Wallin please take a punch of him in the face and then come back and tell me how it feels,” Fury said on an ESPN interview shortly after the match was officially announced. “You can only fight who’s available at the time. I’m sure Otto’s going to give me a great fight.”
In his pursuit of a second match against Wilder, Fury (28-0-1, 20 KOs) underscores that his title reign didn’t end in the ring but with substance abuse problems he encountered following his title-winning performance against Wladimir Klitschko in 2015.
Fury never made a title defense following the win over Klitschko. An extended period of inactivity prompted the multiple sanctioning bodies to strip Fury of the heavyweight titles that Anthony Joshua eventually won before his knockout loss to Andy Ruiz Jr. June 1. Therefore, Fury promotes himself as the “lineal champion.”
“Anybody can win a belt but not anybody can beat the lineal heavyweight champion of the world,” Fury said. “You’ve got to beat me to get it. So this will be a massive opportunity for Otto to become the lineal heavyweight champion.”
Wallin (20-0, 13 KOs) acknowledges the “pushover” label fans have placed on him as Fury’s opponent.
“I understand it because I haven’t been on this level before,” Wallin said. “It is what it is. I don’t care too much about it.
“This is a fight I’ve dreamed of since I was a kid. I wanted to fight in Vegas. I wanted to fight a big fight. I’m finally here.”
Late Saturday
Former super-welterweight champion Erislandy Lara scored a second-round technical knocked out over Ramon Alvarez on Saturday night in Minneapolis. Lara (26-3-3, 15 KOS) found an opening and overwhelmed Alvarez (28-8-3) with a flurry of combinations to the head that sent him through the ropes.
Referee stopped the bout at 2:03 of the round.
On the same card, Miami resident Frank Sanchez (13-0, 11 KOs) scored a TKO over Victor Brisbal when Brisbal failed to answer the bell for the fifth round of their heavyweight bout.
Coming up
Thursday (DAZN, 10 p.m.): Azat Hovhannisyan vs. Franklin Manzanilla, 12, bantamweights.