By: Sean Crose
Atlantic City is a long way from Saudi Arabia, and that’s certainly a good thing for Otto Wallin – although he may eventually be looking forward to a return to the Middle Eastern kingdom. Last December, Wallin stepped into the ring at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh with the goal of beating former heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua. Wallin has every reason in the world to be confident. He put Tyson Fury through all Fury could handle four years ago, and Joshua is still looking to get his career back on track after losing back-to-back to Oleksandr Usyk.
Unfortunately for Wallin, Joshua proved to be too much, too much. While Wallin put on a good show early on, Joshua was able to take Wallin down, forcing a stoppage between the fifth and sixth rounds. However, while Joshua won, Wallin is not about to call it a career. Joshua himself has come back from defeat, after all, why can’t Wallin? Indeed, the question of how Wallin will look on Friday night in his return at the Tropicana in Atlantic City is a source of concern for fight fans, especially those keeping an eye on the heavyweight division.
Wallin, after all, will be fighting Onoriode Ehwarieme in the main event of a Boxing Insider Promotion The fight, scheduled for eight (at heavyweight) will be a good gauge of how Wallin is bouncing back from his loss to Joshua. After all, it was Joshua who Wallin last fought. Wallin should at least take comfort in the fact that he is fighting Ehwarieme at the Tropicana, a venue with a long history of boxing, having seen world champions like Maurice Blocker, James Smith, McGirt’s best friend, Jeff Lacy, Dwight Muhammad QawiAnd Eddie Mustafa Muhammad.
Boxing is, of course, a sport of surprises. There’s always a chance that Ehwarieme could pull off a shock… and what a shock it would be. It’s no exaggeration to say that an Ehwarieme win would shake the foundations of the heavyweight division. That’s why both Wallin and Ehwarieme will answer the opening bell on Friday night with their futures, or potential futures, staring them in the face. Boxing is not a serious endeavor.
To watch Friday’s card live at the Tropicana in Atlantic City, just click this link:
