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Top Heavyweight Otto Wallin Returns To Action Against
Poland’s Sokolowski This Sat. In Wales
Coming off the biggest win of his career almost a year ago,
WBC #13-rated heavyweight Otto Wallin says he’s happy to be
getting back in the ring this Saturday night (February 5,
2022).
The 6′ 5½″ southpaw Wallin (22-1, 14 KOs), from Sundsvall,
Sweden, will look to shake the rust off against durable
veteran Kamil Sokolowski (11-24-2, 4 KOs) of Czestochowa,
Poland, on the untelevised undercard of the Ultimate Boxxer
PPV event featuring the Chris Eubank Jr. vs. Liam Williams
12-round middleweight showdown and female superstar Claressa
Shields defending her WBC/WBA/IBF Middleweight world titles
against unbeaten top-rated challenger Ema Kozin, live from
Motorpoint Arena in Cardiff, Wales.
“It feels good to be back in the ring,” admitted Wallin. “I
haven’t been able to fight in almost a year, so I’m just
excited to be fighting again. This will be a smaller fight
for me to shake some ring rust and I’ll be able to step it
up again very soon. My opponent doesn’t have the best
record, but he’s a tough customer and nobody I can
underestimate. I need to go out and handle my business to
keep being considered one of the best heavyweights in the
world.”
The 31-year-old was last seen winning a wide unanimous
decision over respected fellow contender Dominic Breazeale
in February 2021. A proposed fight against current WBC
interim titlist Dillian Whyte fell through late last year
when Whyte withdrew, claiming an injury.
Wallin came from seemingly out of nowhere to shock the
boxing world and nearly annex the lineal heavyweight
championship from current WBC heavyweight champion Tyson
Fury in 2019, ultimately losing by respectable unanimous
decision while inflicting a cut on Fury that required 47
stitches and nearly led to a TKO victory for the upstart
Swede.
“I feel like since I fought Tyson Fury, I’ve only gotten
better,” added Wallin. “I’ve had two more years of training
and I gained very valuable experience in that fight. I’m
ready to show everybody that when I get my next big shot at
the title I’ll be more than ready to bring it home.”
“I am happy that Otto is back in the ring, particularly in
the UK,” said Wallin’s promoter, Dmitriy Salita. “It’s been
a challenging period after the Dillian Whyte fight
cancellation and now, with some clarity on what is happening
with the heavyweight title picture, we felt it was
beneficial for Otto to fight in the UK: the home of today’s
heavyweight elite. Otto will get back to winning and cement
himself as next in line for another significant
opportunity.”
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