Wallin-Kauffman: Showtime To Televise Heavyweight Fight August 15
By
Keith Idec
Published On Fri Jul 10, 2020, 07:12 PM EST
Otto Wallin’s lengthy wait to fight for the first time since he tested Tyson Fury should finally end August 15.
BoxingScene.com has learned that Wallin and Travis Kauffman have agreed to meet in a 10-round heavyweight fight that night. Showtime is expected to televise Wallin-Kauffman as part of a three-bout broadcast from Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut, but it will not be the main event.
The Wallin-Kauffman fight will be part of a show two weeks after Showtime returns August 1 with its first boxing broadcast since March 13. Official announcements of the August 1 and August 15 broadcasts could come as soon as next week.
Fans will not be allowed to attend the August 1 or August 15 cards due to COVID-19 restrictions.
Sweden’s Wallin (20-1, 13 KOs, 1 NC) was supposed to square off against Australia’s Lucas Browne (29-2, 25 KOs) on March 28 at Park MGM’s Park Theater in Las Vegas. Wallin withdrew from that 10-rounder, which Showtime was scheduled to televise, after a suffering a fractured left foot late in February.
The 6-feet-5, 235-pound Wallin also informed BoxingScene.com late in March that he contracted COVID-19, but the 29-year-old contender has fully recovered. Kauffman also announced on social media in March that he, too, had tested positive for COVID-19.
The 34-year-old Kauffman (32-3, 23 KOs, 1 NC) hasn’t fought since Cuban southpaw Luis Ortiz (31-2, 26 KOs, 2 NC) knocked him out in the 10th round of their scheduled 10-round bout in December 2018 at Staples Center in Los Angeles. Kauffman, of Reading, Pennsylvania, underwent shoulder surgery following his loss to Ortiz, which kept Kauffman out of the ring in 2019.
Wallin, meanwhile, hasn’t boxed since he fought Fury on September 14 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
The 6-feet-5 southpaw opened a nasty gash over Fury’s right eye in the second round and pushed the since-crowned WBC champion more than expected in the biggest fight of Wallin’s career. England’s Fury (30-0-1, 21 KOs) still won a 12-round unanimous decision by scores of 118-110, 117-111 and 116-112.