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Otto Wallin To Face Rydell Booker In Main Event Of
Detroit Brawl On May 26 In Dearborn, MI
A 10-round heavyweight main event has been added to Salita
Promotions’ special Memorial Day weekend-kickoff Detroit
Brawl event, as WBC #11-rated heavyweight Otto Wallin (23-1,
14 KOs) of Sweden will face Detroit’s own Rydell Booker
(26-5-1, 13 KOs) on Thursday, May 26, 2022, in the Lincoln
Ballroom of the Ford Community & Performing Arts Center in
Dearborn, Michigan.
Tickets for “Detroit Brawl” start at $40 and can be
purchased by clicking HERE. PLEASE NOTE: Tickets ordered
online will be placed in will call at the box office for
pick-up. A limited quantity of VIP tickets is also available
by calling 313.529.7604.
An athletic southpaw heavyweight who does everything well,
Wallin hails from Sundsvall, Sweden. The 31-year-old Wallin
made the world stage and captured headlines in 2019 when he
waged a thrilling war with linear world heavyweight champion
Tyson Fury and came extremely close to scoring a monumental
stoppage upset. Then unknown and a 10-1 underdog, Wallin
took the fight to Fury early and cut the superstar
Englishman for 47 stitches with a surprise left in the third
round. What followed was a nail-biting back-and-forth war of
attrition that Fury eventually pulled out via close,
controversial unanimous decision.
Wallin now lives and trains in New York under the tutelage
of popular former two-division champion Joey Gamache at
Mendez Boxing in Manhattan. He captured the EBU European
Union Heavyweight Title with a 12-round unanimous decision
victory over Adrian Granat in April 2018, and has also held
the WBA Continental Heavyweight Championship. Wallin was
last seen in February of this year, scoring a unanimous
decision over Polish veteran Kamil Sokolowski
“Training is going really well,” said Wallin during a break
in preparations. “I’ve been getting a lot of work in over
the last few months. I saw Booker when he fought Franklin
and I know that he’s an experienced and skilled boxer. He’s
not someone I will underestimate, but this is a fight I need
to win. I appreciate my promoter, Salita Promotions, keeping
me active. This is the first time I fight twice in a year
since 2019. I’m looking to put on a good performance.”
Inactive for over a decade, in 2018, Rydell Booker won three
comeback bouts before losing a televised close 10-round
decision to undefeated heavyweight Jermaine Franklin. As an
amateur, Booker was the former number one ranked heavyweight
in the United States and won the Michigan State and Regional
championships every year from 1992 through 2000 and his
first national title in 1999.
A capable boxer with excellent counterpunching skills,
Booker fought all-time-great James Toney for the IBA World
and WBC Continental Americas Heavyweight Championships and
lost a 12-round decision in 2004.
All of the Detroit slugger’s losses have come to former
champions or undefeated top contenders. An upset victory by
the still capable Booker over Wallin would reignite the
Detroiter’s once promising career.
“He’s a southpaw that boxes well,” said Booker of Wallin.
“Everybody thinks they know how to fight a southpaw, but I
fight them totally differently. I’ve been fighting them for
years. I’m sparring with lefties every day and training is
going well. It would mean a lot to beat Wallin. He’s rated
in the world and it would let everybody know Rydell Booker
is still here.”
Booker also says his trainer, former female fighter Kara Ro,
is making sure he shows up in great shape for the battle.
“Kara is getting on my nerves,” he admitted jokingly. “Not
in a bad way. She’s a workhorse and it’s good because she’s
always pushing.”
“I’m excited to add a heavyweight matchup featuring one of
the best heavyweight fighters in the world, Otto Wallin,
against battle-tested Detroiter Rydell Booker,” said event
promoter Dmitriy Salita. “This fight card is packed with
world-class talent and I’m honored for it to take place in
Detroit, the city of boxing legends.”
Rising super welterweight powerhouse Marlon Harrington (7-0,
6 KOs) will be appearing in the night’s eight-round co-main
event.
Fast-tracking former national amateur champion and
undefeated professional middleweight Joseph Hicks Jr. (1-0,
1 KO) of Grand Rapids, Michigan, will continue his rapid
climb up the 160-lb ranks in a six-round bout.
Fighting in supporting bouts will be a trio of undefeated
Michigan prospects, including super welterweight Husam Al
Mashhadi (3-0, 3 KOs) of Dearborn, as well as super
lightweight Ferris Dixon Jr. (2-0, 1 KO) and also undefeated
super welterweight Da'Velle Smith (2-0, 2 KOs), both of
Detroit.
All opponents will be announced shortly and all bouts are
subject to change. The Ford Community & Performing Arts
Center is located at 15801 Michigan Ave. in Dearborn. On
fight night, doors open at 6:00 pm and the action starts at
7:00 pm.
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