Tyson Fury fights Otto Wallin Sept.14: Is the Swede better than Tom Schwarz?

Former heavyweight titleholder (or lineal champion, if you insist) Tyson Fury is returning to the ring September 14 in Sin City against one Otto Wallin of Sweden.

Otto who?

Fury was last seen dismantling another who’s who in boxing, Tom Schwarz, in a little over five minutes. He’ll enter the ring as much as a 40-1 favorite.

Don’t get me wrong here. I have nothing but respect for anyone who laces on a pair of gloves and fights for a living. I actually had no problem with Fury fighting even bigger underdog Schwarz last June. But two longshots in a row?

Fury’s trainer, Ben Davison, recently stated that he believes it’s not smart for top fighters to constantly be in tough, gritty bouts. Sound thinking, but in boxing, fans want a fight that’s at least somewhat competitive. The Fury team also have made claims that they tendered offers to Charles Martin, Kubrat Pulev, and Alexander Povetkin to fight.

The only heavyweight I’ve heard of from Sweden is former heavyweight champion, Ingmar Johannsson. Sixty years ago, Johannsson floored defending champion, Floyd Patterson, seven times over the course of three rounds. Johannsson called his right hand, “The Hammer of Thor” but it was his left that set up victory. He dropped the hammer halfway through the round. Patterson never recovered.

Wallin, a southpaw, doesn’t appear to have hammer attached to his tool belt. His skills are rudimentary. He’s ranked 46^th in the world, slightly higher than the aforementioned Schwartz. Wallin has a pretty good idea what he’ll be facing September 14.

“Fury is not your normal type of fighter or heavyweight,” Wallin told Sean Cross of boxinginsider.com. “He’s a big guy and knows how to use that to his advantage and he does it well."

True that. Fury is undefeated in 28 wins, scoring 19 knockouts. His victory over Schwarz was nothing more than a glorified workout. Fury should be the reigning WBC heavyweight champion of the world. It’s fitting his fight with defending champion Wilder was in Tinseltown, the place of dreams, drama, and pathos.

Fury boxed well, baffling Wilder with quirky movement and fast hands. Wilder floored Fury in round nine and appeared to score a come-from-behind knockout in the last round, only to have Fury get up and hurt him in the final minute. Eight or nine rounds of sustained consistency should have been enough to overcome two knockdowns. Not according to the ringside judges.

One had Wilder winning the fight by an improbable 115-111 score. Another had Fury the winner by a 114-112 tally, while the third judged the fight a draw.

Fury signed on the dotted line to fight Wilder in a rematch early next year. That is, if he beats Wallin. No matter what, Fury says he’s not taking Wallin for granted.

“You think I’m going to look at Otto Wallin and think, ’Oh! This is given?’ said Fury in an article posted onwww.boxingscene.com. “No way. He knows that if he beats me, he can have all of his dreams come true. Nothing is ever given in life.”

Like Schwarz before him, Wallin will give it his all. He might even last longer than Schwarz. The boxing fans? Hopefully, Fury vs. Wilder is next.