Since 1885, the lineal heavyweight championship has been the holy grail of professional boxing, passing through the hard-hitting hands of legends like Jack Dempsey, Muhammad Ali, and Mike Tyson. On Saturday, Otto Wallin has a chance to add his name onto the title’s hallowed name when he fights the defending champ, the “Gypsy King” Tyson Fury. Top Rank Boxing has released a fun trailer for the Peter Berg-directed documentary, HEAVY: Fury vs Schwartz to help promote Saturday’s Fury vs. Wallin. Check it out below.
Tankin’ it easy
This is the heavily favored Fury’s second “undercard” opponent since his knockout, drop-down, slugfest with the all-mighty Deontay Wilder. The first post-Wilder bout was on June 15th against Tom Schwarz, another Euro unknown (SPOILER ALERT), who got knocked out before Logan Paul fans’ curfew. Wallin, a +2000 underdog, isn’t expected to fare much better.
Einar “Otto” Wallin, who?
Einar “Otto” Wallin is a Swedish heavyweight with a current record of 20-0-1. Although he’s undefeated, Fury will be his first “name” opponent professionally, as the 28-year-old has fought mostly local level European talent (or lack thereof). Despite his relative anonymity, Wallin is actually the #4 ranked heavyweight according to the World Boxing Association, and has a killer sense of humor, if not a right hook (watch his Instagram post).
Wallin doesn’t rhyme with ballin’
Otto Wallin’s last name is actually pronounced “wall lean.” Thought you should know. Fun fact: As an amateur, Wallin fought Anthony Joshua twice, losing both affairs.
Other top heavyweights are Fury-ous
“He keeps pulling out all these night shift graveyard workers and fighting them and talking about how he’s the best,” said Deontay Wilder in an interview with FightHype. “That’s bulls*** at its best.” Andy Ruiz got into the Fury-bashing with a Tweet addressing the British heavyweight’s attempt to court Latino boxing fans by fighting on Mexican Independence Day.
His most heated and hated rival, Anthony Joshua couldn’t resist taking a shot in a TV interview with Sky Sports, “I can’t fight Wallin, don’t think I can ever fight lower-tier heavyweights.”
Looking for signs of an upset?
Fury vs. Wallin features the undefeated, #1 ranked heavyweight in an Uncle Sam costume extending an opportunity to a regional fighter after previous “name” fights fell through. Sound familiar? That’s because it happened in “Rocky.” Apollo Creed offered a chance for a club-level fighter, Rocky Balboa to fight him after top contender Mac Lee Green’s injury. Will life imitate art? Probably not, but there are real-life parallels too. Prior to fighting Mike Tyson, Buster Douglas was grieving over his mother’s death. He later shocked the world by beating “Iron Mike” and credits his mom for the inspiration needed to pull off arguably the greatest upset in boxing history. Unfortunately, Wallin is also going through the loss of a parent. This past May, his father passed away from a sudden heart attack. Wallin has dedicated this fight to his father and will hope to pull off the impossible.
How to watch Fury vs. Wallin?
The fight will be streamed on ESPN+, so if you’re subscribed, just remember to tune in on September 14th at around 7:30 ET. New subscribers can sign up here. If you want to join in on the singing of “Sweet Caroline” by an arena of drunk Tyson Fury fans or could use a Sin City getaway, the fight’s going down at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. Tickets are still available and can be purchased here. Enjoy the fight!
