Dillian Whyte’s next WBC interim heavyweight defence has now been announced, and people may be surprised to hear who he’s facing.
Matchroom Sport promoter Eddie Hearn had talked up the idea of Whyte facing Chris Arreola, who recently took former champ Andy Ruiz Jr the distance. However, a match-up with the 40-year-old Los Angeles fighter couldn’t be agreed upon, and Whyte’s next opponent has now been confirmed as the much younger Otto Wallin, according to Boxing Scene.
Thirty-year-old Swedish southpaw Wallin caught the attention of British boxing fans when he almost snatched a surprise victory from Tyson Fury in their bloody Vegas bout in September 2019.
Fury seemed to control the cagey fight as they entered the third round, only for Wallin to connect with a spicy left hook which opened a nasty cut above Fury’s right eye.
It proved a considerable challenge for Fury to manage the gash, and the bout went the full 12 rounds.
Despite losing by unanimous decision, Wallin certainly got some attention, with the 10/1 underdog not expected to last longer than a handful of rounds.
As for Whyte, he has been disappointed by his lack of title opportunities so far in his career.
Despite many ranking him as one of the top heavyweight contenders, he often finds himself the forgotten man, left in the shadows of fellow Brits, the poster boy Anthony Joshua, and the enigmatic Fury.
In his 2015 loss to Joshua, Whyte did manage to daze AJ, who was on the ropes for parts of the second round, looking ready to fall. Frustratingly, Whyte wasn’t given a rematch.
Whyte’s only other defeat was to Alexander Povetkin in August 2020. However, he managed to right this record six months later, knocking the Russian out in the fourth round of their rematch.
Many will now be hoping Whyte puts on an impressive performance, lining himself up for an all-English showdown with Fury, or a rematch with his long-time rival Joshua.