Otto Wallin has had an incident packed last 11 months out of the ring – and is now hoping to get back to business inside it when he faces Travis Kauffman on Saturday night at the Mohegan Sun Casino in Uncasville, Connecticut.
The last time he fought, the New York-based Swede gave Tyson Fury an almighty scare in Las Vegas, inflicting a serious cut on the lineal heavyweight champion in round three of their showdown, which the Englishman eventually won on points.
For the remainder of the fight, it seemed a real possibility that the bout might be stopped in Wallin’s favour on doctor’s orders. Even more dramatically, in the 12th round ‘All In’ Wallin stunned Fury and briefly looked on the verge of a last-gasp victory.
Having been dismissed before the fight, Wallin’s gutsy performance won him many admirers. However, his plans for a quick return to action against Lucas Browne in March were stymied by injury.
Then, of course, the Covid-19 pandemic hit.
Wallin himself suffered from the virus in March, as did his mother and her boyfriend, while two longstanding members of the Mendez Gym where he trains sadly died.
“Yes, I had it, my mum had it, her boyfriend had it but they’re better now, they’re back to normal and in good shape,” the 29-year-old tells Boxing Social. “I never really felt that sick. I lost my sense of smell and taste. It took five days for my taste to come back and then another five days for my sense of smell to come back. That was strange.
“We also lost a couple of people from the gym. The owner Francisco Mendez died, and so did Nelson Cuevas. Nelson was a big boxing guy here in New York. He was 80. He did a lot of work with Mike Tyson when he was younger and had a gym in the Bronx. Tyson boxed on a lot of his amateur shows when he was younger. When he passed Tyson put out a video talking about him. It was very sad, of course.”
With all boxing gyms in New York still closed, Wallin admits he fears for the future of the Mendez, where he trains under the aegis of former super-feather and lightweight titlist Joey Gamache.
“We’re hoping the Mendez is going to open up again,” he says. “But with every month that passes it gets tougher and tougher for them to pay the rent. It’s crazy. I hope they get some [rent] relief somehow. A loan or something.”
Photo: Sumio Yamada/WBC.
Despite the tragedies and travails of 2020 that have overlapped with his own life, Wallin is not one for drama or hyperbole. Indeed, his level headed and pragmatic approach to life has ensured he has kept his body and mind in a positive place throughout the Covid-19 crisis.
“Yes, life has been very different,” he admits. “New York was locked down for quite a while. It was like a ghost town almost. But I’ve been working out all this time and that helped keep me in a good place. I kept busy and my mind on the right things.
“My preparations for the Kauffman fight have been very good. At first, I was training at home, then with Joey in Central Park but then for the last two months we’ve had a private gym that we’ve been using, which is 15 minutes on a bike from where I live in Manhattan. We’ve had everything we need and it’s been working good.
“So I feel great. I had my last day of sparring. That’s always a concern because injuries can happen in training, but I’m now done with all the hard training and sparring and just have to cruise to the fight. Then I have to go with the game plan and I’m fighting again finally.”
All told, by the time he laces them up against Kauffman this weekend, Wallin (20-1, 13 KOs) will have been out of action for almost a year.
He sees the battle-hardened Kauffman (32-3, 23 KOs) as an ideal opponent to begin the post-Fury stage of his career.
“He’s a solid guy. I wouldn’t say there’s anything about him that really stands out. I don’t think there’s anything in particular I have to be really careful of. He can come forward and mix it up and also box a little bit. I’ll have to be ready at all times, of course, but I think I am the better fighter and will have the answers for what he tries to do.”
After his performance against Fury, Wallin is aware that he will now be subject to more scrutiny. It’s something he welcomes, and he is confident that the experience of having been involved in a big fight in Las Vegas will help him further advance his career.
“All in all it was a good, if not great experience. And experience is what I need. To go 12 rounds with the champion like I did, well there’s no experience better than that. But also it was about the experience of dealing with the media and being on the big stage.
“The fight was pretty good. I think I proved myself in there. Of course, there’s things I could have done better. I look back at that fight and see things I did well and things I have to improve on, which is always good. But I took a lot of experience from that fight.”
Photo: Mikey Williams/Top Rank.
Wallin’s respectful attitude has won him many friends and it’s a style that’s in evidence again when asked to give his personal assessment of the enigmatic Fury.
“I wouldn’t say that I have a real relationship with him, but we met again at one of the press conferences [for Fury-Wilder 2]. He’s a nice guy I think. He likes to talk trash and all that, but personally I have nothing against him.
“After our fight, he came into my locker room and said it was a good fight. And he mentioned my dad [who had passed away before the fight] and all that.
“I’d put Fury as the favourite against Anthony Joshua. Joshua is dangerous as he’s such a big puncher. But I think Fury can make him miss and make him look bad though. Make him pay.”
Photo: Mikey Williams/Top Rank.
Another outcome of the Fury fight is that it has left Wallin longing for a second shot at the title, and a return to the hoopla that surrounds a big heavyweight fight.
“Of course, my dream is to fight in big fights and my dream has always been to fight for the heavyweight championship. That’s what I want to do again and to do that I’ve got to take care of business here. I’ve got to try and keep doing well and position myself in line for another shot. I’d love to fight any of the champions, of course.
“Fury and Joshua will probably be tied up for a little while. Meanwhile, I’ve got to win here and hopefully then get back in the ring again before the end of the year. But I can’t start looking past this fight. I have to stay very focused.”
Main image: Stephanie Trapp/Showtime.