Otto Wallin is not one for big talk. In a heavyweight division crowded with big talkers (Tyson Fury), big names (Oleksandr Usyk) and big name brands (Anthony Joshua), Wallin is the antithesis: about as unassuming a country boy as a 6-foot-5, 240-pound world-class heavyweight boxer walks the earth.
Still, Wallin says he's forever grateful for the sport, having experienced many facets of it in his 33 years. His July 26 bout against Nigeria's Onoriode Ewuariemme at the Tropicana Hotel and Casino won't be his first in Atlantic City, New Jersey, but it will be another step in a journey that took Wallin from Sundsvall, Sweden (population 58,807) to the pinnacle of boxing — a world heavyweight title fight.
“It's all thanks to boxing,” Wallin told Boxing Scene. “I don't know what I'd do without it.”
Wallin (26-2, 14 KOs) started boxing at age 15, fell in love and just stuck with it. His amateur days saw him expand his horizons, and he turned pro in 2013 at age 22, moving to Berlin. He fought in Germany and Denmark before returning to Sweden and relocating to Copenhagen, where he also fought in Bulgaria and Latvia. When Joey Gamache, a former two-division world champion and trainer with Denmark's Sauerland Team, decided to move to New York in 2017, Wallin packed his bags.
The move opened doors in the United States and, after his first bout at Atlantic City's historic Boardwalk Hall, Wallin suddenly found himself in Las Vegas facing heavyweight champion Tyson Fury. Fury ended Wallin's unbeaten record in the 2019 bout, but the agile southpaw gave Fury a tough fight and also left him with one of his most memorable moments: a cut above his right eye that required 47 stitches.
Since then, Wallin has fought in the United States, Britain and Turkey, most recently losing to a resurgent Anthony Joshua in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Both Fury and Joshua hold the world heavyweight title and are the only boxers to have beaten Wallin as a professional.
But he doesn't seem too worried about the outcome. Wallin's mood is one of trusting the process rather than win-or-die. You'll never hear him lament a lost “0” or agonize over a missed opportunity. He's equal parts get-up-and-go and stop-and-smell-the-roses. Wallin likes to take the subway to Mendes Boxing Club in Harlem, sweat it out with Gamache, and soak up the gym's competitive atmosphere. Boxing, like life, is a rich tapestry.
“I always try to make the most of it,” Wallin said, “I try to take it as seriously as I can and get better every day. I'm just trying to be the best boxer I can be.”
And will Otto Wallin's world tour continue?
“Boxing has given me so much: traveling, meeting new people and experiencing different cultures, so it's really amazing. And I love New York. I don't want to leave. I think it's a really nice place. Great people, a lot of opportunities and especially as a boxer it's a really comfortable place,” Wallin said.
