By: Hans Themistode
Following his competitive unanimous decision defeat at the hands of current WBC heavyweight champion Tyson Fury in 2019, Otto Wallin has slowly fought his way back up the heavyweight ladder.
In what the 31-year-old hopes will be a robust 2022 fight schedule, he’ll officially return to the ring in one week’s time.
“I’m happy to announce that I’m going to be fighting next Saturday in Cardiff Wales, on February 5th,” said Wallin on a self-recorded video. “I’m going to be fighting Kamil Sokolowski.”
By all accounts, a showdown against Sokolowski isn’t the marquee bout Wallin had been hoping for. The 35-year-old journeyman has picked up just two victories in his last 12 ring appearances, including coming up woefully short against newcomer Ihor Shevadzutskyi in December of 2021.
Still, while Wallin openly admits that his upcoming showdown isn’t a memorable one, he craves consistency at this point in his career.
In the wake of his competitive defeat at the hands of Fury nearly three years ago, Wallin has entered only twice. Regardless of idleness, Wallin picked up the most notable win of his career in the first quarter of 2021.
The highly ranked heavyweight contender found himself engaged in a back and forth battle against former multiple-time title challenger Dominic Breazeale. Although Wallin was at a decided height, weight, and reach disadvantage – he carefully out-boxed and out-slugged his much larger foe, on his way to a wide unanimous decision victory.
Though he’s remained sidelined since then, a deal between Wallin and current WBC interim titlist Dillian Whyte had been struck. Admittedly, Wallin viewed his showdown against Whyte as an opportunity to prove himself on a much bigger stage. Nevertheless, Wallin was ultimately incensed when Whyte was forced to withdraw from their contest due to a shoulder injury.
Considering that Wallin’s bout against Breazeale took place nearly one full year ago, the highly ranked heavyweight contender is simply looking to use his upcoming showdown as a way to work on his craft, while keeping himself in the heavyweight title picture.
“It’ll be good to get a fight and get off some of the ring rust. Hopefully soon, we’ll get a bigger fight.”