Deontay Wilder doesn’t know anything about Otto Wallin.
The WBC heavyweight champion had never even heard of the unbeaten Swedish southpaw until he was chosen as Tyson Fury’s opponent for Saturday night at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. What Wilder does know is that he has a more difficult fight ahead of him than Fury if they’re to solidify the rematch for which the heavyweight rivals already have signed contracts.
The 33-year-old Wilder (41-0-1, 40 KOs), of Tuscaloosa, Alabama, has agreed to fight Luis Ortiz (31-1, 26 KOs, 2 NC) in what would be the first of back-to-back rematches November 23 at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. Wilder knocked out Ortiz in the 10th round of their first fight 18 months ago, but the Cuban southpaw still is considered one of the more dangerous heavyweights in boxing.
Wallin, meanwhile, has not fought a ranked heavyweight on his way to compiling a 20-0 record, which includes 13 knockouts and one no-contest.
“It was very important to me to set my legacy, to stake my claim in this heavyweight division,” Wilder told BoxingScene.com regarding facing Ortiz again. “I’m not in the business of having low opposition. I’m the heavyweight champion of the world, man. And that means a lot to me. That says a lot for me. I’m just looking to have big fights. You know what I mean? I ain’t got time for these low-opposition guys. You know what I mean? Good luck on their opportunities, coming up, but right now, I’m at the top and I’m trying to unify the division. With that said, I must continue to fight the best of the best.”
In his past three fights, Wilder has faced Ortiz, Fury and Dominic Breazeale, whom Wilder knocked out in the first round. Breazeale (20-2, 18 KOs) was a huge underdog, but he also was Wilder’s mandatory challenger.
Fury, co-promoters Bob Arum and Frank Warren, ESPN and BT Sport have been criticized for Fury’s level of opposition in his past two fights. He stopped unbeaten but unknown German Tom Schwarz (25-1, 17 KOs) in the second round of his last fight, June 15 at MGM Grand Garden Arena.
England’s Fury (28-0-1, 20 KOs) almost agreed to an immediate rematch with Wilder, which would’ve taken place May 18 at Barclays Center in Brooklyn. Fury instead signed a multi-fight contract with Arum’s Top Rank Inc. and ESPN.
ESPN+ streamed the Fury-Schwarz card in the United States and will stream the Fury-Wallin show.
“You know, Fury’s not the best,” Wilder said. “That’s why ESPN can give him low opposition. They ought to be ashamed of themselves. How you gonna try and build a guy from a whole other country, here in America, when you know in America we don’t put up with bullsh*t, with these low-opposition guys, especially from another country. They ought to be ashamed of themselves. But, you know, every dog has his day. It’s always an expiration date on everything. And before it’s my time, I’m just trying to make sure I do the right things, fight the right people, and give the fans what they wanna see – amazing and exciting fights.”
Wilder wished Wallin well against Fury, but he doesn’t expect the untested Swede to ruin the plan for his rematch with the lineal heavyweight champion.
“I don’t know nothing about him,” Wilder said of Wallin. “This is the first time I’ve heard of him, or even heard his name. So, we’ll see what he’s got. This is an opportunity for him to make a name for himself. So, I wish him luck. If he can go in there and stop Fury, go in there and do that. Do exactly that. Don’t worry about nothing else. Go in there and knock him out.”
Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.