Swedish heavyweight contender, Otto Wallin, has laid out his prediction for the undisputed title clash between Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk after watching the latter’s ninth-round knockout win against Daniel Dubois.
Wallin faced Fury back in 2019, famously inflicting a cut upon the Brit which required forty-seven stitches and caused him plenty of problems in what was expected to be a relatively comfortable outing.
Following that unanimous decision, Fury went on to win the WBC belt from Deontay Wilder, and has now signed to face the division’s other titlist, Usyk, to crown the first undisputed champion since Lennox Lewis.
In an interview with Boxing Social, Wallin explained that Usyk seems to struggle with stronger, physically imposing heavyweights, suggesting that his performance against Dubois reminded him of the fight with Derek Chisora in 2020.
Although winning via stoppage, the main talking point from the fight was a low blow thrown by Dubois that hurt the Ukrainian.
It’s because of this apparent vulnerability that Wallin backs his former opponent as a firm favourite.
“He [Usyk] did [look beatable against Dubois], he didn’t really shine in that fight. He got the knockout, which is good, of course, but I felt like it looked like the same guy that struggled with [Derek] Chisora.
It’s all about styles, I think that some styles will give Usyk a lot of problems, and probably the same with Fury, but as of right now, I think that Fury will be a big favourite.”
Before an official date is announced, Fury must first get past Francis Ngannou, who he fights on October 28.
Meanwhile, Otto Wallin will be moved to number two in the IBF rankings following his latest victory over Murat Gassiev in the latter’s first fight at heavyweight. It puts the Swede in prime position for a world title shot over the next two years.