Skip to content
Home » Otto Wallin is about to get shafted out of a potential heavyweight title shot

Otto Wallin is about to get shafted out of a potential heavyweight title shot

Otto Wallin is about to miss out on a world heavyweight championship chance as opponent Dillian Whyte has no intention of rescheduling their fight.

The rangy Swede was one win away from challenging former opponent Tyson Fury, and many in the sport fancied Wallin to do a number on Whyte.

If this were the case, Wallin would have been fighting Fury in the second helping of their entertaining Las Vegas battle of September 2019.

But as Whyte suffered an unfortunate injury that required medical treatment, Wallin is set to miss out. This scenario came about despite asking Whyte to be a gentleman and stick to his word.

The World Boxing Council had already stated the winner of Whyte vs. Wallin would be mandatory for Fury. However, Whyte knows he doesn’t have to defeat Wallin to get his shot.

Therefore, the Wallin clash is deemed surplus to requirements by Whyte and promoter Eddie Hearn.

For Wallin, an injury has shafted him out of any chance he had of battling Fury. Once Fury vs. Whyte is in the books, the winner will likely face Oleksandr Usyk or Anthony Joshua for the undisputed title.

Confirming that Whyte is under no obligation to fight Wallin before Fury, WBC President Mauricio Sulaiman spoke to talkSPORT.

HEAVYWEIGHT ORDER

He said: “The WBC order was very clear, that the winner of Fury vs. Wilder has one month to try to secure the ultimate unification against Usyk, who defeated Joshua.

“If they’re not capable of doing such, then the WBC would go with a mandatory, which is the interim champion [Dillian Whyte].

“We have received from the British Boxing Board of Control the medical certification that Whyte could not fight Wallin because of the injury.

“So we are going to do what we promised, which is that way we are moving forward,” he added.

Dillian Whyte Otto Wallin off

Last week, Fury’s promoter, Frank Warren, stated that “The Gypsy King” decides who he fights next, not the WBC. But if the two-time heavyweight champion of the world wants to keep the green and gold belt, he will have to adhere to the order.

Should Fury decide to retire, Wallin may be in the shake-up to face Whyte for the vacant belt due to the circumstances that transpired.

The views expressed in this article are opinions of Phil Jay.

Phil Jay – Editor of World Boxing News since 2010 with over one billion views. Follow WBN on Twitter @WorldBoxingNews.