As a former opponent of Tyson Fury, Otto Wallin has had his say on the champion’s potential undisputed bout with Oleksandr Usyk.
Wallin is best known for taking Fury the distance in Las Vegas. Despite losing via unanimous decision, the Swedish heavyweight had Team Fury in a panic by causing a large gash above his right eye.
Once he had the victory in the bag, the British fighter went on to receive 47 stitches.
As Wallin attempts to build back up from that sole defeat, Fury has moved on to the most important fight a division can offer – undisputed. He’s in talks to face the other champion, Usyk, this Spring to crown just one heavyweight champion.
Speaking to SunSport, Wallin told Usyk what he should do in the fight whilst complimenting his skills.
“Fury has a big body and good upper movement so Usyk has to hit the body, and when he gets inside he must be careful. He can’t let Fury tie him up, lean on him, he was doing that to me and it took some energy out of me.
“So I think for Usyk to be successful he needs to use his angles like he does, use his jab and hit Fury’s body a lot. I think Usyk is a really good fighter and he proved that against Joshua he is big enough for the division.”
“I thought he was going to be too small for Joshua but he did a really good job.”
Despite praising his heavyweight record so far, Wallin is picking against Usyk for the fight. He believes his former opponent will win a decision.
“But, at the same time Fury is the favourite for me. He’s a big guy, a really good boxer who can be aggressive too. I think Fury is a smart fighter, he’s confident and he has the tools to beat Usyk, I think on points.”
There are predictions aplenty for the scrap, but still no official announcement. Talks still seem to be see-sawing between Saudi Arabia and Wembley Stadium, with a date sometime in April now likely should it go ahead.