LAS VEGAS – Joey Gamache recognizes Tyson Fury’s status within the heavyweight division.
Otto Wallin’s trainer considers the brash Brit the best fighter in it. Gamache, a former WBA lightweight champion, definitely doesn’t feel Wallin will encounter someone he can’t beat Saturday night, though.
Handicappers have disagreed by installing England’s Fury as a 25-1 favorite entering their scheduled 12-round bout at T-Mobile Arena. Gamache still is confident Wallin will provide a much stiffer test than that when the undefeated Swede faces the lineal heavyweight champion in the main event of an ESPN+ stream set to start at 7:30 p.m. ET/4:30 p.m. PT.
The 6-feet-9, 254¼-pound Fury (28-0-1, 20 KOs) is unorthodox and unusually athletic for a boxer so big. Gamache feels his 6-feet-5, 236-pound southpaw will have plenty in his arsenal to deal with Fury.
“We’ve worked on certain things that we’ve stayed on, real fundamental things that aren’t difficult to do,” Gamache told BoxingScene.come. “So, it’s just a matter of following that plan. And that can be the tough part because Fury’s coming with a lot of different things. But there’s holes in Fury that haven’t been exploited. You see people that go in there and they fight him, they can be overwhelmed pretty early. I see things that are pretty basic that present opportunities. And I feel like Otto can do his job. It’s nothing complicated. It’s pretty clear.”
Gamache’s confidence notwithstanding, he understands the public perception of what’s widely viewed as a second straight lesser fight for Fury than fans want. All he could do was make sure he and Wallin (20-0, 13 KOs, 1 NC) prepared as properly as possible for this career-changing opportunity once the fight was made last month.
“Listen, we know we’re in there with the best heavyweight in the world,” said Gamache, who trains Wallin in Manhattan. “We know it’s a hell of a task to beat him. But boxing’s full of surprises. Anything can happen. Somebody can be hit and can go. So, I feel like we’ve done our job, put our work in. We’ve got a plan. We know plans can change with one shot. But at the same time, we’re standing on what we believe in.”
Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.
