Who is Otto Wallin? Boxing Record, Bio and Background
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Grant Young
Despite Otto Wallin's boxing record solidifying him as one of the world's very best heavyweights — especially considering who his only loss is owed to — few people aside from hardcore boxing fans knew who Wallin was just a few months ago.
But that changed once the announcement was made that Wallin would be fighting Anthony Joshua on the Day of Reckoning fight card in Saudi Arabia this weekend.
Now just a few days away from the fight, fans are desperate to know what an Otto Wallin bio looks like, who he has fought so far in his career, and what the chances are that he can produce a spectacular upset against Joshua this weekend. Well, we're here to tell you to give you all the information you need regarding Otto Wallin. And we're confident that once you know more about this big-time boxer, you'll be eager to watch him fight this weekend.
Who is Otto Wallin?
Otto Wallin Bio
Einer Otto “All In” Wallin is a Swedish southpaw heavyweight boxer, age 33. Wallin's boxing record as a professional is 26-1 with 14 KOs. The one loss came against Tyson Fury — one of the greatest heavyweights of all time — in one of the most competitive matches of Fury's career to this point.
Wallin won the WBA Continental heavyweight title in 2017, the European Union heavyweight title in 2018, and the WBA Inter-Continental heavyweight title in 2023. At this point, Wallin is currently ranked anywhere between the #4-10 in the heavyweight world rankings, depending on which website is doing the ranking.
One interesting Otto Wallin bio tidbit is that he comes from a boxing family, as his father and one of his brothers boxed. Wallin began boxing at age 15, and won the Swedish championship for beginners in 2008, just a few years into his amateur career. Wallin found continued success as an amateur and faced Joshua in the final of the Haringey Box Cup in 2010. Joshua would defeat Wallin by points in that match.
Wallin faced Joshua again in a Sweden – England dual match in January 2011, and lost to him by points for a second time. Surely, Wallin will be receiving a much greater payday in this upcoming fight against Joshua than he did in those previous bouts.
Wallin finished his amateur boxing career with a record of 34–12.
Otto Wallin Professional Career
Wallin turned professional at age 22 in 2013. The Otto Wallin boxing record quickly went to 20–0, and he won the WBA Continental heavyweight title in the process. Ultimately, Wallin — then considered a massive prospect at heavyweight, and a potential unified champion — was matched up against another undefeated fighter: Tyson Fury.
On September 14, 2019, Wallin faced the former unified heavyweight world champion Tyson Fury (28–0–1, 20 KOs) in Las Vegas. In the third round of the fight, Wallin opened up a large cut above Fury's right eye with a left hand, which affected Fury's vision for the rest of the fight and eventually required 47 stitches.
Despite Wallin winning a few early rounds in the fight, after a ringside doctor examined Fury's cut in the sixth round and deemed Fury able to continue, Fury began to dominate; hurting Wallin repeatedly with solid shots to the body. Although he fatigued in the second half of the fight, Wallin came back in the twelfth and landed a strong left hand which seemed to trouble Fury.
Ultimately, Wallin lost the fight by unanimous decision — with the scorecards reading 116–112, 117–111, and 118–110, making for the first (and only) loss of his professional career. Yet, Wallin's performance proved that he is a heavyweight to be reckoned with.
Otto Wallin vs Anthony Joshua
Ever since suffering that loss to Tyson Fury, Otto Wallin has rattled off six straight victories, including a hard-fought split decision victory over Murat Gassiev in September.
Although Wallin isn't a heavyweight boxer with the biggest name, doesn't cause any controversy outside of the ring, and isn't going to sell the fight with his words, there's no question that he could very well upset Anthony Joshua this weekend. Despite having lost to him twice in his amateur career, Wallin has surely improved enough since those days to give Joshua an excellent fight in Saudi Arabia this weekend.
If Wallin does manage to take down the English boxing hero, we will certainly see him become a global superstar overnight. And if that becomes the case, perhaps Wallin will be able to secure the rematch against Tyson Fury that he has badly wanted since losing to him in 2019.
Yet, Wallin will have to defeat Anthony Joshua first, if that rematch is ever to happen. We'll see if he can do so on Saturday.
Grant Young is a sports writer from San Francisco. He has had two professional Muay Thai fights: he got knocked out in one, and got a knockout in the other. When it comes to his favorite fighters, it's Israel Adesanya, and then it's everyone else.
