Otto Wallin: People Might Underestimate Me

With the whole boxing world holding its breath in anticipation for the biggest heavyweight fight in recent years, we at VegasInsider caught up with Swedish heavyweight fighter Otto Wallin for an exclusive interview.

In the interview, we talked about Otto's disappointing loss to Anthony Joshua back in December, what the Swede has been up to since then, and how the loss might lead to new opportunities. Otto Wallin talked about what could be next for AJ with a fight announced for Wembley Stadium in September and how he sees a clash between Tyson Fury and AJ panning out. Lastly, he shared his opinions and predictions for the upcoming Usyk vs. Fury fight, capping it off with a few words on the Mike Tyson vs. Jake Paul bout.

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When asked about the loss to Anthony Joshua back in December, Otto Wallin opened up about how he was surprised about the attitude of his adversary:

“I think it surprised me a little bit, that he came out the way that he did.” 

“I felt like he was more assertive and aggressive in our fight than he had been for a while. I think they had a good game plan and he's obviously a great fighter. He surprised me a little bit maybe.”

“Ben Davidson and him have obviously been working hard and they have been bringing out the best of him. Like Ben said, it's not like they have had to change much, because he's already very good. They just needed to bring out the best and use his tools and what he's good at.” 

Following the loss to AJ, Otto Wallin took some time off and reflected on himself and the future, stating that the loss could be a reason for others to now underestimate him:

“I had about 3 weeks off and then I started training again. It was a tough loss against Joshua. I had big hopes going into the fight and I felt like I was going to win. I wasn't happy with it.“

“After I had those weeks off, I started training again and now I feel ready again to get back into the ring.” 

“I think I have to understand where I'm at now.  I was close to a title fight before, and now I've certainly taken a few steps back.”

“I just got to get back and take it fight by fight. Start winning fights. You never know in boxing. Things can change very quickly, and if I get some good wins I can get in the run for some title fights again. That's what I want and why I'm training so much.” 

“I think it’s possible, that people can underestimate me now like a lot of people have underestimated Anthony Joshua as well. Now, when I've been in with him, I know how good he is. I think he is one of the best.”

“He gave me a much tougher fight than Fury did. I felt he was a lot better than Fury was when we fought.” 

“I can take advantage of the fact that people might underestimate me now.”

"I told my team that I wanted to fight in July, so I'm hoping to fight around that time. If I can't get a big fight, I'll take something smaller just to stay active and keep myself in shape, so that we can hopefully get something bigger in the fall.”

News came out this week that Anthony Joshua has a fight at Wembley Stadium in September this year, and we asked Otto if he thinks it's possible to see the two Brits, Joshua and Fury going against each other come September, despite a rematch clause in the Usyk vs. Fury fight, and how he thinks a fight between the two stars would go:

“I don't know how likely it is, but you never know when the Saudi-Arabians are in there.”

“Let's say that Fury beats Usyk, then maybe they can make a deal with Usyk that he gets paid and steps aside, and AJ gets the winner afterward. That would be good. Everybody wants to see Fury against Joshua. I think it could be possible, but we'll see.”

“I've always said that I thought Fury was going to beat AJ quite easily. I don't know now though. Joshua is very good, and his trainer Ben Davidson obviously knows Fury as he used to be his trainer.”

“I think it would be a very good fight. Fury is so up and down and it's hard to figure him out.”

“When he fights Usyk we're going to see more. He has fought Ngannou, and before he fought Derek Chisora, so it's hard to know where Fury is at. Against Ngannou he had a really tough fight and AJ just went in there and knocked him out.”

“We'll know more about Fury after the Usyk fight and see where he's at. If he doesn't look good in that fight, I think AJ will beat him.”

Talking about the much anticipated Usyk vs. Fury fight, we asked the big Swede who he's backing to win the highly anticipated fight, and if he was surprised to finally see the fight happening:

“I'm not surprised. I'm really happy about it.” 

“It's hard to pick a winner. Fury is so up and down. Let's see how he comes into this fight. I still see Fury as the favorite, but Usyk is going to give him a great fight. A proper heavyweight fight I've been waiting for for a long time.”

“If I had to pick someone to win, I would have to pick Fury to win on decision. It's not likely with a knockout win, because Usyk is a very good defensive fighter and very smart.”

“Usyk needs to go against Fury's body a lot. It's a big body. And use angles as he always does. He's a smart fighter and I'm sure they'll have a great game plan. Fury is tall, so it'll be easier to go against the body.”

“Try to not let Fury lean on him so much to tire him out. I'm sure Fury will try that.”

“Fury will sometimes fight dirty, and I don't think I've ever seen Usyk fight dirty, but if Fury starts fighting dirty, Usyk needs to do something dirty back to show he doesn't have any respect for him.”

“Fury is probably going to hit him low, lean on him, push him around and you saw the elbow he did to Ngannou. That was terrible. One of the dirtiest moves I've ever seen.” 

“I hope Usyk can bring some of that against Fury if he starts fighting dirty. I hope he has that in him; he probably does, and he might need it.”

To conclude the interview we got Otto's opinion on Jake Paul fighting heavyweight legend Mike Tyson almost 20 years after the former champion retired:

“I think the whole thing is crazy. It's hard to make anything of it to be honest.”

“Tyson retired in 2005, and now, 20 years later he's coming back to fight Jake Paul. If Tyson wants to do it, fine. Why does Jake Paul want to fight Tyson at this point? It's a circus.” 

“I hope Tyson comes out and doesn't take too much punishment. I don't think Jake Paul is very good, so maybe Tyson can beat him. I'm rooting for Tyson.”