A mask wearing Tyson Fury weighed in at 254.4 pound, and his opponent Otto Wallin tipped the scales at 236 lbs. for their fight this Saturday night on ESPN+ at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. Fury was in his normal joking mood in clowning around during the weigh-in, and appearing happy about his fight tomorrow night against the 6’6″ Wallin.
(Photo Credit: Mikey Williams/ Top Rank)
With Fury installed as a big favorite to win with the odds-makers, it’s not surprising that he’s so carefree right now. He doesn’t have anything to worry about. Wallin was picked out by Fury’s promoters at Top Rank as an easy mark to make him look good before his February 22 fight against WBC heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder.
Wallin is a showcase fight for Fury, and that’s all he was ever meant to be. Fury’s promoter Bob Arum of Top Rank has insisted this week that Wallin is an excellent talent, and can punch. But his past fights as a pro don’t bear that out. Wallin isn’t a good opponent to get Fury ready for a fight against Wilder. The Swedish heavyweight would be ideal to prepare Fury for a fight against his nephew Hughie Fury or Tom Schwarz, but NOT Deontay Wilder. Wallin is too slow and weak to prepare Fury for a rematch with Wilder.
Arum: Tyson Fury will stop Deontay Wilder in five or six rounds
“We wanted a big guy. We threw our lines out to every heavyweight,” said Top Rank promoter Bob Arum to Fighthub in explaining why Otto Wallin was selected for Fury to fight. [Alexander] Povetkin was one that turned it down, and we felt that Wallin was the best guys available. He’s undefeated, he hits very well, and he’ll give Fury a good fight. But as far as I’m concerned, there’s not a heavyweight out there that’s going to beat Fury.
Well, Schwarz wasn’t a bad fighter. Fury made him look silly, because Fury is just so good. But I think Wallin is coming in looking to win, and I think he’s going to give Fury a good fight. But nobody is beating Fury. He’s going to take Wilder out in five or six rounds. Because I know where he was when he fought Wilder the first time, and I know where he is now,” said Arum.
Arum would be taken more seriously by boxing fans if he simply predicted a decision win for Fury over Wilder. Predicting that fury will knockout Wilder within five or six rounds sounds like Arum doesn’t know what he’s talking about. First off, Fury is a light hitting slapper, who mostly moves around the ring to avoid trouble. He ran from Wilder and Wladimir Klitschko for 12 rounds. When Fury did stop moved against Wilder in the last quarter of the fight, he was dropped twice. So for Arum to predict that Fury will be knocking Wilder out early, it would require that he stand and fight. If Fury does that, he’s likely going to get destroyed by Wilder.
Fury is a “tremendous puncher” says Arum
“The confidence he has now, and he’s a tremendous puncher, and an amazing boxer,” said Arum. “There’s no fighter around that’s remotely like him. Imagine Andy Ruiz fighting him [Fury]. It would be a joke. Because Andy would have to be on stilts to hit this guy. Try punching up seven or eight inches. It’s very difficult to fight a guy that moves as well as Fury does, and punches as well as he does. [Anthony] Joshua can’t move, and Joshua can’t take it to the body. Andy was the worst possible opponent for Joshua, because he can take a punch, he has very fast hands, and he murdered Joshua to the body.
He was the wrong opponent, and he’s going to do it again. I don’t know if he’s going to win more decisively, but he’s going to win and knock Joshua out again. How do I know bad or good, but he’s going to win, and he’s going to win by knockout. Tyson Fury coming in and waiving a Mexican flag isn’t him being out of his lane. He’s showing great respect to the Mexican fans, and to the great contribution Mexicans, including Andy Ruiz, has made to this sport,” said Arum.
Fury isn’t a big puncher, and we’ll see that on Saturday night. Although Fury knocked out Tom Schwarz last June, that was a guy that was dropped by journeyman Senad Gashi last year. Gashi isn’t a big puncher, but he had Schwarz on the deck.
Fury vs. Wilder rematch is signed for February
“That is correct,” said Arum said when asked if Fury will be fighting Deontay Wilder in February. “I look for Wilder to take care of business against [Luis] Ortiz. Am I thrilled that it’s happening? No, but it was already signed, and they couldn’t get out of it. Delete Showtime. Tyson is with ESPN, and Wilder is with Fox. Fox and ESPN, like all traditional networks, have a tradition of working together now.
Fox and ESPN work together really well. Because the people they had working those sports departments [at HBO and Showtime] were infants, immature, and couldn’t get hired by a major network. Major networks know how to work together, and they should work together. This is not a zero sum game, and HBO and Showtime made it. A zero sum. You lose, we win. Well, networks know better than that,” said Arum.
Wilder and Fury are fighting each other in a rematch on February 22 in Las Vegas, Nevada. This could end badly for Fury. There’s a rematch clause for a third fight. If Fury loses the rematch, it’s doubtful that he’ll make a big production about wanting a third fight against Wilder.
Other weights on Saturday’s Fury-Wallin card
ESPN+ (11 p.m. ET)
Emanuel Navarrete 121.8 lbs vs. Juan Miguel Elorde 121.2 lbs
(Navarrete’s WBO Junior Featherweight world title – 12 Rounds)
ESPN+ (7:30 p.m. ET)
Jose Pedraza 139.5 lbs vs. Jose Zepeda 139.4 lbs
(Super Lightweight – 10 Rounds)
Carlos Cuadras 115.6 lbs vs. Jose Maria Cardenas 115.2 lbs
(Super Flyweight – 10 Rounds)
Gabriel Flores Jr. 132.6 lbs vs. Miguel Angel Aispuro 132.6 lbs
(Lightweight – 8/6 Rounds)
Isaac Lowe 127.4 lbs vs. Ruben Garcia Hernandez 127.2 lbs
(Super Featherweight – 10/8 Rounds)
Iskander Kharsan 122.4 lbs vs. Isidro Ochoa 122 lbs
(Super Bantamweight – 8 Rounds)
SWING BOUTS
Abram Martinez 142 lbs vs. Kevin Johnson 142.2 lbs
(Welterweight – 6/4 Rounds)
Felix Valera 176 lbs vs. Vyacheslav Shabranskyy 175.4 lbs
(Light Heavyweight – 10 Rounds)
Guido Vianello 240 lbs vs. Cassius Anderson 244.2 lbs
(Heavyweight – 6/4 Rounds)
Promoted by Top Rank, in association with Frank Warren’s Queensberry Promotions and Salita Promotions, tickets for Fury vs. Wallin priced at $606, $456, $306, $206 and $106 (not including applicable fees) are on sale now. Tickets are also available for purchase online at www.axs.com or by phone at 888-929-7849.
