In the ultimate battle of wasted momentum, Dan Rafael reports that heavyweights Otto Wallin and Murat Gassiev are “in the process of finalizing” a September bout in Turkey.
Sweden’s Wallin (25-1, 14 KO), pegged as a tune-up for Tyson Fury between the latter’s first and second bouts with Deontay Wilder, controlled the first half of their fight and opened a gnarly cut on “The Gypsy King” before ultimately fading down the stretch. The bout instantly put him on people’s radar, but though he did pick up a solid win over Dominic Breazeale two fights later, he’s yet to face a credible threat since.
Gassiev (30-1, 23 KO) looked like Usyk’s heir atop the 200-lb division, but rather than capitalize on Usyk’s move to heavyweight, he instead did the same. Injuries and other issues have held him to just four fights in the last five years, all against awful competition.
I like this. Both guys are in desperate need of a credible win after years of treading water. Hopefully there’ll be some sort of U.S. broadcast.