In the co-main event of Adrien Broner’s comeback, Swedish heavyweight contender Otto Wallin continued his rise in the division with a unanimous decision over former world title challenger Dominic Breazeale.
The judges scored the fight 117-111, 116-112, and 118-110.
The veteran Breazeale, whose only previous two losses came to unified champion Anthony Joshua and former WBC heavyweight titlist Deontay Wilder, showed ring rust signs after a 21-month layoff.
He started slowly, and Wallin was able to get his offense on track early and often.
Firstly, the southpaw Wallin landed a huge left hand that caused swelling over Breazeale’s right eye in the fifth round. He out-jabbed Breazeale 103 to 37 and landed more than twice the number of power shots than Breazeale did (129-54).
Wallin, who constantly stated his desire to move past the Tyson Fury fight that he nearly won in 2019 in the pre-fight leadup, earned the most impressive win of his career in his second appearance at the Mohegan Sun “Fight Sphere.”
OTTO WALLIN – HEAVYWEIGHT TITLE
“I think I had an advantage because I fought here before,” said the 30-year-old, who lives and trains in New York City under former world champion Joey Gamache.
“I was more focused this time, and I think I came out better than what I did last time. We knew coming in that I had better footwork, better speed, so I wanted to use that. And I have good defense too.
“He hit me here and there but nothing too serious. Before the fight, I said I gotta do what I’m good at, and that’s what I tried to do.
“My ultimate goal is to be a heavyweight champion. But I have to keep improving. I’m not there yet. I’ve got a lot of work to do. I’m getting better.
“I’m not so focused on who I fight. I want to fight, keep it stepping it up, and when I get another shot, I’ll be ready for it.”
“I let the early rounds get away from me,” said the 2012 U.S. Olympian Breazeale. “Otto is a good boxer and did a good job of sticking and moving the whole fight.
“I did a little bit too much head-hunting at the start and paid for it on the back-end.”
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