Otto Wallin fights Dominic Breazeale during a five-bout card broadcast Saturday on Showtime.- The towering Swede wants to KO the American so he can set up bouts against Deontay Wilder.
- He also wants to do what he can to force a rematch against Tyson Fury.
Otto Wallin wants to make a knockout statement Saturday on premium US network Showtime so he can force showdowns with prominent American heavyweights Andy Ruiz and Deontay Wilder.
The towering Swede fights Dominic Breazeale at the Mohegan Sun Casino in Uncasville as part of a five-bout event headlined by Adrien Broner's comeback against Jovanie Santiago.
Breazeale has not won a fight since a knockout win over Carlos Negron in 2018, but Wallin is expecting the best version of the Californian, regardless.
"I'm expecting the best of him but at the same time he's been out for two years, he got knocked out in his last fight, and I'm sure he'll feel like he's got something to prove," Wallin told Insider this week.
"He'll be taking this fight seriously, and trying to beat this up-and-coming guy. He'll probably come out and try and be aggressive with me, but I'll use my tools, and what I'm good at to be the boss in there, and not let him control."
Wallin hopes that victory this weekend is a springboard for fights against bigger-name heavyweights in the Premier
"The gameplan is for me to fight in the US," he said. "I'm based here, fighting on Showtime. If there's a good offer in Europe, and Showtime is on board, we'd consider it.
"The PBC fighters … there's a good connection there, with easy fights to make. And this is now my second [PBC] guy after Travis Kauffman, now Breazeale.
"I want to fight as much as possible," Wallin said. "It depends on how tough the fights are but I, at least, want to fight three times in 2021.
"Andy Ruiz and Deontay Wilder are the fights that are out there for me. Charles Martin, too."
The heavyweight division is healthy
Wallin told Insider that the landscape of the heavyweight division is exciting for him as a competitor.
The two heavyweight champions - WBC titleholder Tyson Fury and WBA, WBO, and IBF champion Anthony Joshua - are expected to take part in a two-fight series this year.
And then there are other talents like Ruiz, Wilder, Joe Joyce, Alexander Povetkin, Murat Gassiev, and Filip Hrgovic.
"Boxing is doing well and the heavyweight division is in a great place," Wallin said.
"The Klitschko brothers [Wladimir and Vitali] were great champions - maybe too good, so it wasn't that exciting because we always knew they were going to win.
"Now there's Joshua, Wilder, and Fury who are three big stars. And this is what boxing really needs. Heavyweight is really the big one.
"Hopefully they make Fury and Joshua because everyone wants to see it - me included. It's what is great for [the] division.
"There are guys coming up - I'm one of them. And then there's Ruiz, Usyk, Joe Joyce, Dubois also … he'll come back. It's a good time to be a heavyweight."
Wallin said Fury has the edge in the prospective Joshua matches, even though Joshua "has the tools to beat him."
He said: "Joshua has a nice style. I've been studying his win against Breazeale lately, and to me Joshua looked really good in there [in 2016].
"He looked sharp, strong, and threw good combinations. I think, maybe, somewhere along the way he lost confidence.
"I hope he can get that back because if he can, he can give Fury problems. Fury is a bigger guy, awkward, and has good momentum. And I think that right now makes the difference. To me, Fury is the favorite.
"I remember watching the Fury-Klitschko fight [in 2015] and we were all saying Fury was going to get knocked out, and Klitschko was going to win.
"Then Fury went out there and kept winning the rounds. Klitschko couldn't do anything.
Wallin has first-hand experience of fighting Fury, losing by decision in 2019, a fight he says he'd like to redo in the future considering the controversy of the first.
Fury, on another night, may have lost by technical knockout because of the damage Wallin's punches caused his face. The referee allowed the fight to continue, though, and he won a decision.
"When I fought him, we had a really good gameplan. I think we managed to take that awkwardness away from him, and so that style of his didn't take me by surprise too much.
"I tried to be aggressive with him. He likes to dance and have his hands behind his back, so I never wanted him to feel comfortable so he could do those things.
"I would like the Tyson Fury rematch," Wallin said. "I made it obvious I want it. But my career is much more than only that.
"He's never called me [since the fight]. I see him calling out all these different guys. In one interview it was like he was calling out 10 different guys, but I was not on the list, so I don't know what's going on.
"I don't think he's mentioned my name since our fight. So I just have to keep working, making sure I'm worthy at another shot at him, or somebody else who has the belts.
"I've got to win fights and put on good performances to get my name up there.
"This is a great platform fighting on Showtime, competing against a big name in Breazeale so I have to go out and produce a big statement to solidify my name at the top. I'm smart, I'll pick him apart, and then stop him."
The five-bout card that Wallin competes on is broadcast on Showtime in the US and Fite TV in the UK.