BoxRec

Otto Wallin-Murat Gassiev Finalized For September 30 In Antalya, Turkey

Otto Wallin finally found another credible heavyweight willing to fight him.

The Swedish southpaw told Boxing Scene on Friday that he will face former unified cruiserweight champion Murat Gassiev on September 30 in Antalya, Turkey. Their 12-round fight for a WBA regional title will take place at Regnum Carya Hotel.

Organizers of the Gassiev-Wallin fight were working at the time this story was posted to secure a broadcast or streaming partner in the United States.

His fight against Gassiev (30-1, 23 KOs) will be the most significant action for the 32-year-old Wallin (25-1, 14 KOs) since his October 2021 bout against Dillian Whyte was canceled on 10 days’ notice because Whyte reportedly suffered a shoulder injury. Whyte-Wallin was never rescheduled because Whyte was the WBC’s mandatory challenger and instead fought unbeaten champion Tyson Fury, who stopped Whyte in the sixth round of an event that drew a record crowd of 94,000 to London’s Wembley Stadium in April 2022.

“I feel great that I’ve got this fight coming up,” Wallin said. “The last couple years has been tough with no significant fights, but finally I have a big opportunity and I’m ready to take it with both hands. My training has been going really well and I’m excited to go out to Turkey and handle business.”

Wallin, whose only loss was a 12-round unanimous decision to Fury (33-0-1, 24 KOs) nearly four years ago, last fought January 27. He easily defeated Helaman Olguin (9-6-1, 4 KOs) by unanimous decision in a non-televised eight-rounder that night at Castleton Banquet & Conference Center in Windham, New Hampshire.

Russia’s Gassiev is 4-0 (4 KOs) as a heavyweight since he lost the IBF and WBA cruiserweight championships to Oleksandr Usyk in their title unification fight five years ago in Moscow. Ukraine’s Usyk (21-0, 14 KOs), who fully unified the cruiserweight crowns by beating Gassiev unanimously in their 12-rounder, later outpointed Anthony Joshua twice in 12-round heavyweight title fights.

In his most recent action, the 29-year-old Gassiev knocked out previously unbeaten American Mike Balogun (20-1, 16 KOs) in the second round March 3 at the Karen Demirchyan Sports Complex in Yerevan, Armenia.

That's actually a solid fight.
Both guys didn't really do anything in recent years, so it's tough to predict this fight.
If Gassiev can't hurt him, it should be a wide decision win for Wallin though.

If there is a good stream, I'm gonna watch it.

Also, I'm always surprised when I see Gassiev age. Dude looks 40 for like 10 years.

it's incredible gassiev is still just 29, feels like it was ages ago he was having meaningful fights. thankfully this is back on track. he can still have several good year if he stays active

This is a pretty solid matchup.

Good fight! Keen to watch.

Dazn uploaded the Usyk vs Gassiev fight for those here who vote for Gassiev to win by decision:


Money is on Gassiev by k.o.

margaret thatcher wrote: ↑09 Sep 2023, 04:43 it's incredible gassiev is still just 29, feels like it was ages ago he was having meaningful fights. thankfully this is back on track. he can still have several good year if he stays active

He's had a prolonged period of chilling out since his loss to Usyk, for sure.
Maybe not a bad way to do it - move to HW closer to physical prime without the wear and tear of damaging fights on the journey there.

Always liked Gassiev. Good to watch, skilled and hard hitting.

SendoTakeshi97 wrote: ↑16 Sep 2023, 04:26 Dazn uploaded the Usyk vs Gassiev fight for those here who vote for Gassiev to win by decision:


Money is on Gassiev by k.o.

think gassiev will win more rounds and knock him out. But if he doesn’t get the ko I think he will still win on points.

Otto is not usyk…

gregregegg wrote: ↑16 Sep 2023, 04:48 Otto is not usyk…

True. Usyk isn't 197 cm tall
Nah, but if he wins by decision, that's fine by me.
I like Gassiev and think it's a shame a unified champ, who fought for the undisputed title at 24 years of age (on paper) didn't fight one meaningful fight in the last 5 years.

I'll be glad no matter how he wins.

If Gassiev stopped Wallin, it would be a gigantic feat

That's cool. Seems like people have been dodging Otto, and Gassiev has been avoiding risks. Surprising that Gassiev was willing to take on the Otto challenge. Both of these guys are approximately #15-25 right now, so this will give us possibly a new top 10er, or pretty close to it, with a conclusive result. Either way, good match-up.

Otto Wallin Believes He Has the Power To Hurt and Stop Murat Gassiev

A competitive loss at the hands of Tyson Fury in 2019 was supposed to be a blessing in disguise. For Otto Wallin, it wasn’t the results he wanted but coming out on the losing end would seemingly open up every door imaginable to him. Before Fury, Wallin was an unknown commodity. Now, he was a bonafide contender.

Nevertheless, just when Wallin (25-1, 14 KOs) was bracing himself for the endless line of huge fights that were bound to happen, he was pushed to the sidelines. Forced to figure things out in boxing’s purgatory, the 32-year-old fought just once in 2020 and 2021. Things ticked up in 2022 and 2023, but he was still deprived of a big-time opportunity. In the coming weeks, however, that’s all about to change.

On September 30th, at the Regnum Carya Hotel in Antalya, Turkiye, Wallin will take on former unified cruiserweight champion, Murat Gassiev.

Up until this point, Gassiev has shown the sort of chin that some can only dream of. When his defense fails him and his opponents land huge blows right on the money, Gassiev doesn’t flinch.

Ultimately, Wallin isn’t worried about Gassiev’s ability to take a good shot. Although he’s shared the ring with a few heavy hitters, Wallin is convinced that he can put his man to sleep if given the chance.

“I think I can do it,” said Wallin to Boxing Scene when asked if he has the power to stop Gassiev dead in his tracks.

Highlight-reel-worthy knockouts get the fans buzzing but winning keeps them coming back. Of course, having Gassiev lying down motionless on the canvas would prove to the world that he’s more than just a pure boxer. With that said, as long as Wallin’s hand is raised in victory, he’ll be a happy man.

“The most important thing is getting the win but it would be amazing if I could stop him. It would be a really big statement.”

Fight Week!

Any indication as to what platform this fight will be shown on yet?

Wallin will need to stop Gassiev to win - or at least win 10 of the rnds for any chance of getting a draw.

Gassiev TKO 4

i like em both somehow.

still, the fact that those guys are ranked where they at, with the record they produced in the last couple of years, tells u everything u need to know bout the state of the division.

COMATOSE.

this has borefest written all over it .

Hope i am wrong and favour Gassiev slightly

Is it on YouTube?

A great matchup. I didn't expect such step up from Gassiev.

Are we expecting this to be happening at 8/9 tonight UK time?

Gassiev on points, surely.

It's terrible these type of fights don't get any international promation and coverage.

What's going on with Gassiev's beard? Used to be fine now looks like he's burnt his face?

Maybe some sort of skin infection?

Also, what's up with his weight? Dude lost like 10 kg since his last fight.