# Otto Wallin

Einar Otto Wallin (born 21 November 1990) is a Swedish professional boxer. At regional level, he has held multiple heavyweight championships, including the Swedish title in 2018. He holds a notable win over former unified world cruiserweight champion Murat Gassiev.

## Amateur career

Wallin comes from a working-class family. His father and one of his brothers boxed, and he began boxing when he was 15. As an amateur, he won the Swedish championship for beginners in 2008. There were few heavyweights available to fight in Sweden, where professional boxing was banned until 2007, so Wallin would often fight whoever and whenever in order to stay active.
In 2009, Wallin won a bronze medal at the Swedish Youth National Championships in the heavyweight division, and won the Ruska Tournament in the super-heavyweight division. In 2010, Wallin won silver at the Swedish National Championships, and silver at the Haringey Box Cup, losing to Anthony Joshua on points in the final. He also won silver at the 2010 Ruska Tournament.
Wallin lost to Joshua on points again in a Sweden–England dual match in Stockholm in January 2011. He then won bronze at the Swedish National Championships in February, silver at the Nordic Championships in March, gold at the Algirdas Socikas Tournament in May, gold at the Haringey Box Cup in June, and gold at the Riga Open Tournament in December.
In January 2012, Wallin defeated Frazer Clarke 32:11 in a Sweden–England dual match in Uppsala, which qualified him for the 2012 European Boxing Olympic Qualification Tournament. Wallin won bronze at the Gee-Bee Tournament in March, losing to Magomed Omarov in the semi-finals. At the European Boxing Olympic Qualification Tournament in April in Trabzon, Turkey, he was eliminated in the round of 16 by Mihai Nistor. Wallin finished with an amateur record of 34–12.

## Professional career
### Early career

Wallin turned professional at the age of 22, in 2013. He trained under Torsten Schmitz for six months in Berlin, Germany, then moved to Copenhagen, Denmark, where he met former two-weight WBA world champion Joey Gamache, who became his trainer. Wallin followed Gamache to New York after Gamache left Denmark.

### Rise up the ranks
#### Wallin vs. Granat

After racking up a 19–0 record and winning the WBA Continental heavyweight title, Wallin defeated Adrian Granat (15–1, 14 KOs) to win the vacant Swedish and EBU European Union heavyweight titles in April 2018. Wallin won by unanimous decision 117–111, 117–112, and 118–110. As a tall southpaw, he has also been a sparring partner for Anthony Joshua, Jarrell Miller and Adam Kownacki.

#### Wallin vs. Kisner

Wallin then made his United States debut against Nick Kisner (21–4–1, 6 KOs) in April 2019, but the fight ended in a no contest after an accidental clash of heads opened a cut above Kisner's eye in the first round. He was set to fight BJ Flores (34–4–1, 21 KOs) in July, but Flores was ruled medically unfit to fight on the day of the scheduled bout.

#### Wallin vs. Fury

On 14 September 2019, Wallin faced the former unified heavyweight world champion Tyson Fury (28–0–1, 20 KOs) at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Wallin lost the fight by unanimous decision, with the scorecards reading 116–112, 117–111, and 118–110. He opened up a large cut above Fury's right eye in the third round with a left hand, which affected Fury's vision for the rest of the fight. A ringside doctor examined the cut in the sixth and deemed Fury able to continue. The examination by the doctor seemed to motivate Fury, as he poured on the pressure afterwards, hurting Wallin repeatedly with solid shots. Despite fatiguing in the second half of the fight, Wallin came back in the twelfth and landed a strong left hand which seemed to trouble Fury. Commentators stated Wallin's performance had defied the odds despite the loss, as he came in as an over 10 to 1 underdog.

### Career from 2020
#### Wallin vs. Kauffman

Wallin was set to make his return to the ring against former WBA (Regular) heavyweight world champion Lucas Browne (29–2, 25 KOs) on 28 March 2020 at the Park Theater at the Park MGM in Las Vegas. The fight was scheduled for 10 rounds. On 26 February, Wallin was removed from the card due to a foot injury and was replaced by Apti Davtaev. He instead made his return against Travis Kauffman (32–3–0, 23 KOs) on 15 August 2020. Wallin dominated the fight, and Kauffman retired in the fifth round due to injury.

#### Wallin vs. Breazeale

Wallin's next fight was against former IBF and WBC title challenger Dominic Breazeale (20–2–0, 18 KOs) on the undercard of Adrien Broner vs. Jovanie Santiago on 20 February 2021. The Swede was in control the whole fight and regularly found the target with his straight left hand, causing swelling around Breazeale's right eye. Wallin won a comfortable unanimous decision victory with scores of 117–111, 118–110 and 116–112.
On 15 September 2021, it was reported that terms had been agreed between Wallin and the WBC interim heavyweight champion, Dillian Whyte (28–2, 19 KOs), for a bout on 30 October at the O$_2$ Arena in London, England. However, ten days before the fight was scheduled to occur, Whyte withdrew due to reportedly suffering a shoulder injury.
After the fight against Whyte fell through, Wallin was left without an opponent. He next returned to the ring in February 2022, in a late-notice bout against Polish journeyman Kamil Sokołowski (11–24–2, 4 KOs). Wallin defeated Sokołowski on points, then faced Rydell Booker (26–5–1, 13 KOs) on 26 May 2022 in Booker's home state of Michigan, easing to a decision victory. Wallin had another "stay-busy" fight against Mexican heavyweight Helaman Olguin (9–4–1, 4 KOs) in January 2023. He recorded a decision win, improving his record to 25–1.

#### Wallin vs. Gassiev

On 12 September 2023, it was announced that Wallin would face Murat Gassiev (30–1, 23 KOs), former IBF and WBA world cruiserweight champion, in a fight where the WBA Intercontinental heavyweight belt was at stake. The bout took place in Antalya, Turkey on 30 September. Wallin was the busier of the two boxers, and won by split decision. Two judges scored it 115–113 for Wallin, while the third saw it 117–111 for Gassiev. The 117–111 scorecard for Gassiev was classed as "questionable" by media outlet Bad Left Hook. Wallin was the betting underdog against Gassiev, whose only prior loss had been against Oleksandr Usyk, and the victory was described as the biggest of Wallin's career to date.

#### Wallin vs. Joshua

On 15 November 2023, it was announced that Wallin would face former unified WBA, IBF, WBO heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua (26–3, 23 KOs) on 23 December 2023. The fight took place at Riyadh's Kingdom Arena in Saudi Arabia. Wallin found himself perpetually on the defensive, unable to penetrate Joshua's formidable jab and right hand, which effectively neutralized his offensive capabilities. The duel turned decisively in round 5 when Joshua unleashed a devastating punch that sent Wallin reeling backward, but Wallin displayed remarkable resilience, hanging on until the end of the round. Before the start of round 6, Wallin's coach Gamache made the decision to stop the fight, resulting in a corner retirement win for Joshua.

#### Wallin vs. Chisora

On 27 November 2024, Wallin was announced as a step in to fight Derek Chisora (35-13, 23 KOs) at Co-op Live in Manchester. Wallin, who was promoted by Salita, was given the opportunity after Jarrel Miller was dropped, due to promotional issues. The pair went face-to-face at a press conference the next day. The fight was billed was 'The Last Dance', hinting Chisora's retirement. Chisora had recently said he wanted to have 50 professional fights. The fight with Wallin would be his 49th in the pro ranks. Wallin said he was there to win, "I'm here to fight and here to win and that's all. I don't worry so much about The Last Dance and all that, this is my time. You're gonna get stopped." Chisora responded, "There's nothing you've got that I haven't tasted in my life. I don't believe you've got the power to bother me. Even the biggest punchers have not bothered me, so, you know, don't worry, I've got fear of you but it gives me that motivation to train harder. I'm definitely going to come for you." Lead promoter Frank Warren said the winner would be locked in to a big fight later in the year.
Wallin received a call from his manager Jolene Mizzone, the day after his birthday, to offer him the fight. He called in a belated birthday gift. The fight was scheduled for 10 rounds. During the final press conference, Chisora said, "I'm buzzing for this fight. It's going to be one exciting fight, I can tell you that now. Do not sit down because we're going to drown this guy. We're going to go hard. I know for a fact he hasn't trained the way I expect him to train for me, so I'm excited. I just want to fight." Chisora explained h was told to retire from boxing after 50 fights. Had he not been told, he could have 'gone to 100'. The press conference was billed as Chisora's final in the UK. Chisora weighed in at 259.7 pounds, 20 pounds heavier than Wallin, who came in at 239.1 pounds. During the face-off, Chisora jokingly put Wallin in a headlock and security had to break it up.
In front of 13,000 in attendance, Wallin was defeated by Chisora via unanimous decision. He was knocked down in the 9th and 12th rounds in the IBF title eliminator contest. In the opening round, Chisora fought on the inside attacking Wallin's body. It was more of the same in the next round until Wallin landed several left uppercuts on Chisora. He gained Wallin's attention in round 4 following a number of overhand rights. By round 5, Wallin was holding on. An accidental head clash caused a nasty cut between the right eye and eyebrow of Chisora. Referee John Latham sent Chisora to the ringside doctor to be examined a few times for the remainder of the fight, but was allowed to finish the fight. Chisora tired himself out in round 8, when he threw a 30-punch combination, however not all clean punches and not all landed, but Wallin was hurt from this. The first knockdown occurred in round 9 when Chisora landed right hand. Wallin stumbled back a few stops and lost his footing, ending up staggering backwards across the ring, onto the canvas. Another right hand to the head dropped Wallin again to close the final round. The scores read 117-109, 114-112 and 116-110 for Chisora. Many felt the fight was not close. Fans took to social media to call out judge Bence Kovac of Hungary, for his 114-112 card. Had Chisora not scored the two knockdowns, his card would have been scored a draw, still giving Chisora an overall majority decision win.

## Personal life

Wallin was born in Sundsvall, Sweden, but has lived in New York City since 2017. Wallin's father died of a sudden heart attack shortly before the announcement of Wallin's fight with Tyson Fury. Wallin said his father, an amateur boxer and part-time trainer, motivated him to get into boxing, and hoped to use his father's death as extra motivation to upset the odds and defeat Fury, similar to Buster Douglas's losing his mother before fighting Mike Tyson. Despite ultimately losing the bout, Wallin's performance was praised. Fury said in his in-ring interview, "Big congratulations to Otto and I just wanna say rest in peace to his father. I know he would be very, very proud of his performance."

## Professional boxing record

| 31 fights | 27 wins | 3 losses |
| By knockout | 15 | 1 |
| By decision | 12 | 2 |
| No contests | 1 | 1 |
| No. | Result | Record | Opponent | Type | Round, time | Date | Location | Notes |
| 31 | Loss | 27–3 (1) | Derek Chisora | UD | 12 | 8 Feb 2025 | Co-op Live, Manchester, England | |
| 30 | Win | 27–2 (1) | Onoriode Ehwarieme | KO | 1 (8), 0:48 | 26 Jul 2024 | Tropicana Hotel, Atlantic City, New Jersey, U.S. | |
| 29 | Loss | 26–2 (1) | Anthony Joshua | RTD | 5 (12), 3:00 | 23 Dec 2023 | Kingdom Arena, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia | |
| 28 | Win | 26–1 (1) | Murat Gassiev | SD | 12 | 30 Sep 2023 | Regnum Carya Hotel, Antalya, Turkey | Won WBA Inter-Continental heavyweight title |
| 27 | Win | 25–1 (1) | Helaman Olguin | UD | 8 | 27 Jan 2023 | Castleton Banquet & Conference Center, Windham, New Hampshire, US | |
| 26 | Win | 24–1 (1) | Rydell Booker | UD | 10 | 26 May 2022 | Ford Community Center, Dearborn, Michigan, US | |
| 25 | Win | 23–1 (1) | Kamil Sokołowski | PTS | 8 | 5 Feb 2022 | Motorpoint Arena, Cardiff, Wales | |
| 24 | Win | 22–1 (1) | Dominic Breazeale | UD | 12 | 20 Feb 2021 | Mohegan Sun Arena, Montville, Connecticut, US | |
| 23 | Win | 21–1 (1) | Travis Kauffman | TKO | 5 (10), 2:32 | 15 Aug 2020 | Mohegan Sun Arena, Montville, Connecticut, US | |
| 22 | Loss | 20–1 (1) | Tyson Fury | UD | 12 | 14 Sep 2019 | T-Mobile Arena, Paradise, Nevada, US | |
| 21 | NC | 20–0 (1) | Nick Kisner | NC | 1 (10), 3:00 | 13 Apr 2019 | Boardwalk Hall, Atlantic City, New Jersey, US | No contest after Kisner cut from accidental headbutt |
| 20 | Win | 20–0 | Adrian Granat | UD | 12 | 21 Apr 2018 | Gärdehov, Sundsvall, Sweden | Won vacant European Union and Swedish heavyweight titles |
| 19 | Win | 19–0 | Srđan Govedarica | KO | 3 (8), 1:01 | 27 Jan 2018 | Arēna Rīga, Rīga, Latvia | |
| 18 | Win | 18–0 | Gianluca Mandras | TKO | 5 (10), 1:18 | 22 Apr 2017 | Sundsvalls Sporthall, Sundsvall, Sweden | Won vacant WBA Continental heavyweight title |
| 17 | Win | 17–0 | Raphael Zumbano | UD | 10 | 3 Dec 2016 | Arena Armeec, Sofia, Bulgaria | |
| 16 | Win | 16–0 | Osborne Machimana | UD | 8 | 10 Sep 2016 | Hovet, Stockholm, Sweden | |
| 15 | Win | 15–0 | Irineu Beato Costa Junior | TKO | 3 (8), 0:35 | 23 Apr 2016 | Hovet, Stockholm, Sweden | |
| 14 | Win | 14–0 | Samir Kurtagic | UD | 6 | 19 Dec 2015 | Rosvalla Arena, Nyköping, Sweden | |
| 13 | Win | 13–0 | Vladimir Goncharov | UD | 6 | 19 Sep 2015 | Rosvalla Arena, Nyköping, Sweden | |
| 12 | Win | 12–0 | Oleksiy Mazikin | KO | 2 (8), 2:26 | 20 Jun 2015 | Super Arena, Ballerup, Denmark | |
| 11 | Win | 11–0 | Beka Lobjanidze | KO | 4 (8), 0:52 | 2 May 2015 | Frederiksberghallen, Copenhagen, Denmark | |
| 10 | Win | 10–0 | David Gegeshidze | TKO | 2 (8), 2:32 | 14 Mar 2015 | Super Arena, Ballerup, Denmark | |
| 9 | Win | 9–0 | Ivica Perkovic | RTD | 4 (8), 3:00 | 6 Dec 2014 | Große EWE Arena, Oldenburg, Germany | |
| 8 | Win | 8–0 | Vjekoslav Bajic | TKO | 2 (8) | 29 Nov 2014 | Falkoner Center, Frederiksberg, Denmark | |
| 7 | Win | 7–0 | Maksym Pedyura | TKO | 4 (6), 2:50 | 30 Aug 2014 | Gerry Weber Stadion, Halle, Germany | |
| 6 | Win | 6–0 | Ladislav Kovarik | TKO | 4 (4), 1:00 | 15 Feb 2014 | MusikTeatret, Albertslund, Denmark | |
| 5 | Win | 5–0 | Ferenc Zsalek | PTS | 4 | 25 Jan 2014 | Hanns-Martin-Schleyer-Halle, Stuttgart, Germany | |
| 4 | Win | 4–0 | Tomas Mrazek | PTS | 4 | 23 Nov 2013 | Stechert Arena, Bamberg, Germany | |
| 3 | Win | 3–0 | Gabor Farkas | TKO | 3 (4), 2:53 | 26 Oct 2013 | EWE Arena, Oldenburg, Germany | |
| 2 | Win | 2–0 | Valeri Semiskur | TKO | 2 (4), 0:55 | 7 Sep 2013 | Arena Nord, Frederikshavn, Denmark | |
| 1 | Win | 1–0 | Roman Cherney | KO | 1 (4), 2:57 | 15 Jun 2013 | NRGi Arena, Aarhus, Denmark | |

## Pay-per-view bouts

| No. | Date | Fight | Country | Network |
| 1 | 14 September 2019 | Tyson Fury vs. Otto Wallin | United Kingdom, Ireland | BT Sport Box Office |
| 2 | 23 December 2023 | Anthony Joshua vs. Otto Wallin | United Kingdom, Ireland | TNT Sports Box Office |
| 2 | 23 December 2023 | Anthony Joshua vs. Otto Wallin | Worldwide | DAZN |