By: Hans Themistode
It was a merry-go-round of names that were presented at the doorstep of heavyweight contender Dillian Whyte. However, after Eddie Hearn failed to finalize deals against both Jermaine Franklin and Chris Arreola, the long-time promoter has decided to go in another, and possibly, more dangerous direction.
As first reported by Boxingscene.com, Whyte is now set to return to the ring against heavyweight contender, Otto Wallin. The pair have agreed to terms on an October 30th, date at the O2 Arena in London.
Wallin, 30, has desperately attempted to attract some of the biggest names in the heavyweight division to step foot inside the ring against him. While the Swedish native is coming off back-to-back wins against Travis Kauffman and Dominic Breazeale, he’s mostly known for his all-out brawl against WBC/Ring Magazine titlist, Tyson Fury.
The two tangoed in September of 2019, at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. Heading in, Wallin was pegged as the huge underdog and was mostly expected to suffer defeat in devastating fashion.
Nevertheless, Wallin proved his worth, giving Fury all he could handle and bloodying the undefeated titleholder early on. Despite coming out on the losing end, Wallin was mostly praised for giving Fury one of the most difficult fights of his career.
As for Whyte, he’s gone on a tear since picking up the first defeat of his career to Anthony Joshua in 2015. In total, Whyte reeled off 11 straight victories, including two against former heavyweight belt holders, Joseph Parker and Lucas Browne. Whyte did, however, experience a significant setback, suffering a shocking fifth-round stoppage defeat at the hands of Alexander Povetkin in August of 2020.
Whyte would ultimately prove that Povetkin’s victory was nothing more than fortuitous, stopping the former Olympic gold medalist in the fourth round of their immediate rematch and ushering him straight into retirement.