hes prolly talking first time around..those 2 godawful return fights before the first fury wilder fight
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speaking of wallin..ive said wallin deserves a fury rematch...unlike the wilder fights, there was some actual fukkery in fury wallin..no way should have fury walked out with his zero
if not lets see what he can do against wilder
if not lets see what he can do against wilder
Wallin Wants Deontay Wilder If Fury Rematch Doesn't Materialize
By Corey Erdman
Published On Sat Oct 24, 2020, 02:21 PM EST
Otto Wallin’s trainer Joey Gamache told him that Teofimo Lopez was going to beat Vasiliy Lomachenko.
As Wallin sat in a New York City bar with friends watching his trainer working in Lopez’s corner as his prophecy came true, he couldn’t help but wish for one more chance to try shocking the world the way Teofimo did.
Wallin came very close to upsetting the apple cart in September of 2019 when he fought Tyson Fury for the heavyweight title. Wallin gashed Fury over his right eye, with a legal punch, to the tune of 47 stitches. Though referee Tony Weeks and ringside physicians had a close look several times, the fight was allowed to continue and Fury escaped with a unanimous decision, as paradoxical as that may sound.
It was the closest Fury has come to losing, outside of the 12th round knockdown he sustained at the hands of Deontay Wilder in their first of two bouts. Wilder ultimately got a second chance, and now Wallin wants his.
“It would be great if I could get that fight. I've been thinking about it and studying it since the last one happened,” said Wallin. “If I would have had those cuts, they would have stopped the fight. I don't want to be bitter about that, but I think I deserve the rematch.”
Fury is reportedly on the hunt for his next foe after a presumed third bout with Wilder fell through. According to a report from Dan Rafael for Boxing Scene, the leading candidates for Fury’s return bout on December 5 are former title challenger Carlos Takam and German upstart Agit Kayabel. Earlier this week, a British sportsbook listed the chances of Wallin being chosen at 20-1, but it would seem those hopes may be a little slimmer now.
Wallin wonders why he isn’t at the front of the pack, but he has an idea.
“You know, Fury calls out everybody. In one interview I heard him mention about ten different names, but I never hear my name at all. I don't know what's going on with that,” he said. “I gave him his toughest fight. They know that I'm a tough guy, I proved that I could hurt him, I hurt him a few different times, I cut him. That's not very good news for him.”
In terms of pure mathematics, the 29-year old who is guided by Salita Promotions, has a strong case, having landed more punches on Fury in their bout than any other opponent has according to Compubox.
“Numbers don’t lie,” said promoter Dmitriy Salita. “Otto landed more punches against Tyson Fury in one fight then Klitschko and Wilder combined. If there is anyone in the world that has a chance to beat Tyson Fury, that man is Otto Wallin. We feel that Otto is the best heavyweight in the world.”
Wallin got back in action on August 15 with a fifth round TKO win over Travis Kauffman, which was most notable for the fact that it may have been the first and only bout contested between two fighters who had previously contracted COVID-19. Aside from that, it was a relatively easy night for Wallin, who says he took one week off before returning to the gym, where he now claims to spend five hours a day.
It's a return to normalcy for Wallin, who despite his big opportunity against Fury in 2019, endured a number of setbacks and heartbreak in the twelve months preceding it. The three fights he saw cancelled during that time period were one thing, but the passing of his father back home in Sweden was a gargantuan emotional burden to carry into the biggest fight of his life.
“I'm in a better place than I was before the last fight,” said Wallin. “The experience is very good for me, having gone 12 rounds with him, because now I can see how to improve. One thing I can do is to pace myself better. My first six rounds were good, but from rounds seven to 11, he won those rounds. There's a lot I can take from that fight.”
For that matter, there’s something to take away from that fight for the other candidates as well—in fact, if they’re looking for footage of Fury struggling to any degree whatsoever, it’s one of the few places prospective opponents could look.
“I had no respect for him. I think a lot of guys go in there and show him too much respect. I just went in there and tried to leave everything in the ring,” said Wallin. “I think once Fury gets comfortable, he starts dancing and having his hands behind his back and everything. With Fury, you have to make it a fight and not let him get set and comfortable, because then he's going to outbox you.”
Though Takam has shown himself to be an aggressive fighter throughout his career, and Kayabel as well against lesser opposition, Wallin doesn’t feel they pose a threat to Fury.
“I think all of those fights are good for Fury. I think the other guys don't have the fast feet that I do. You need that, you need to be able to be aggressive and have fast feet because he's got very good feet and he's going to move a lot. If you can't do that, it's going to be tough,” he said.
If he doesn’t hit the Fury jackpot again this time around, luckily there’s another big-money heavyweight without a date whose eschewing caused this situation in the first place: Deontay Wilder.
Wallin says he is in discussions with Showtime about a potential December date, which would be too soon for a Wilder fight to materialize in all likelihood. But a 2021 clash with the Bronze Bomber remains a goal—albeit a secondary one.
“Wilder is with PBC and I'm with Showtime, so we can make that happen. But I did better with Fury than Wilder, so I don't know that he wants that,” said Wallin.
Vitali Klitschko Tests Positive For COVID-19
By BoxingScene Staff
Published On Sat Oct 24, 2020, 03:43 PM EST
Former WBC heavyweight champion Vitali Klitschko has announced that he tested positive for COVID-19, just a day before mayoral elections in Ukraine’s capital.
Klitschko is the mayor or Kiev and expects to keep his seat in the upcoming vote.
"Friends, the coronavirus crept in at the most inconvenient moment. Today I received a positive test result. A mayor's work during a pandemic, of course, involves constant risk.... communicating with people, checking hospitals. In particular, I regularly visited infectious diseases wards where patients with COVID-19 are being treated," Klitschko said.
"I tried to be careful. Given the specifics of the work, I regularly did tests. Today, unfortunately, is disappointing. I feel good. But I have to go into self-isolation. I will work from home. Please do not ignore the rules and do not ignore the threat, protect yourselves."
Klitschko was a two-time WBC world champion at heavyweight. He retired from the sport in December of 2013, to fully focus on his political career.
His last fight took place in September of 2012, when he stopped an undefeated Manuel Charr. He was then going to face Bermane Stiverne in a mandatory title defense, but was forced to pull out due to injury.
Klitschko began his political career in 2006 when he placed second in the Kiev mayoral race. In 2010, he founded the party Ukrainian Democratic Alliance for Reform (UDAR) and was elected into parliament for this party in 2012. He was elected Mayor of Kiev in May 2014.
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Do Better.
I don’t think Haney , Teo or any of these young guns ducking any smoke .. he needs to get off DAZN after The Garcia fight
When him and Teofimo are at 147 and join PBC in 2025
@patscorpio
i was scrolling down and i read Vitali Klitch tested positive.. i automatically thought it was PED..lol
Hope He gets better..champ.
i was scrolling down and i read Vitali Klitch tested positive.. i automatically thought it was PED..lol
Hope He gets better..champ.
there are several exciting fights for that dude..esp once he moves up to 115
Conscious Pilot
Do Better.
I can see Wallin fighting Ruiz (if fat boy beats Nipples) and the winner of that fight Wilder. They’ll force a PPV if Ruiz winsspeaking of wallin..ive said wallin deserves a fury rematch...unlike the wilder fights, there was some actual fukkery in fury wallin..no way should have fury walked out with his zero
if not lets see what he can do against wilder
How former NBA star Nate Robinson ended up boxing on Mike Tyson's undercard
Former NBA star Nate Robinson will make his boxing debut on Nov. 28. Sean Flanigan/ A Fist Full of Bolts
Eric WoodyardESPN
Nate Robinson's alarm goes off before the sun rises. The NBA's lone three-time Slam Dunk Contest champion rolls out of bed -- no snooze button allowed -- to get ready to train. He isn't currently focused on returning to the basketball court but is instead pursuing a new endeavor that has him at the gym six days a week, twice a day.
At age 36, with no prior professional or amateur experience, Robinson is getting ready for his first boxing match. "It's brutal. Waking up early, running six or seven miles, it's something I've never done in my life, and I'm doing it at 36, so it's definitely making me feel young and energetic," Robinson told ESPN. "It's really tuning me in to another part of myself that I never knew I had.
"But I just want people to respect me as a person, as an athlete and as a boxer because I'm going through it," he continued. "I'm not taking it easy and going through the motions. What they'll see Nov. 28 is a Nate Robinson that really put in work to really get to this point, and I hope I surprise a lot of people, because a lot of people think I'm gonna lose."
Robinson will enter the ring that night for a six-round bout against famed YouTuber Jake Paul (1-0, 1 KO) on the Mike Tyson-Roy Jones Jr. undercard. Robinson's camp started at the end of August and is expected to wrap almost a week and a half before the fight date. His team includes strength and conditioning coach Chris Denina -- who typically works with Robinson in the mornings -- and boxing trainer Francisco "Paco" Reyes of Tenochtitlan Boxing Club in Renton, Washington. Reyes oversees the evening sessions.
"We're really pushing him and molding him to be more of an endurance athlete. And Nate's a very explosive athlete," Denina said. "There's certain things, which are nice, that I don't really need to work on. It's mainly just his conditioning and making him use his body in ways that he's never really done on the basketball court."
When the idea of training Robinson was presented to Reyes, his initial reaction wasn't positive.
"Hell, no," Reyes said, not wanting his gym to become some sideshow for an ex-NBA player whom he didn't know much about. Eventually, he was persuaded.
"I realized that he was serious about it when he came back after that first sparring session," Reyes said. "Not a lot of people come back after the first sparring session, but he came back, he wanted more, he wanted to keep going, and that really got my interest. A lot of people will come and spar and are like, 'Oh, no, I'm good,' but not Nate. He has the heart."
At 5-foot-9 and less than 200 pounds throughout his NBA career, Robinson developed a reputation for toughness and athleticism. In high school, he excelled in track and football, as well as basketball. At the University of Washington, he starred on the gridiron and hardwood before deciding to focus solely on basketball. But boxing is something completely different, especially experiencing it for the first time at his age.
"It's been a challenge learning how to breathe and fight while you're tired," Robinson said. "That's been the fun part. Like Mike Tyson said, 'Everybody has a plan until you get punched in the mouth,' and then you have to figure it out. I never understood that until I actually got in the ring for the first time with sparring, and I knew exactly what he meant."
Robinson played basketball in the BIG3, the NBA Development League (now the G League), the Israeli Basketball Premier League and the Liga Profesional de Baloncesto in Venezuela. He also signed to play in Lebanon in 2018 before an injury scuttled those plans.
Off the court, Robinson appeared in the 2018 film "Uncle Drew" with Kyrie Irving, tried out with the Seattle Seahawks in 2016 and collaborated with former NBA player Carlos Boozer to launch the HOLDAT clothing brand.
These other pursuits have kept him busy, but the idea of entering the ring started over a year ago, when Robinson's manager, Napoleon "Polo" Kerber, met Paul at an event. As he continued his search for new challenges post-basketball, Robinson agreed to fight Paul despite no professional experience.
What Robinson does carry into his fight is a longtime appreciation for the sport.
"I've been a fan of boxing my whole life. Me and my brother, we used to slap box and use boxing gloves in the backyard with my dad. So, it's nothing new, it's just real business now," Robinson said. "I've played in front of thousands of people my whole life hooping, so just being able to step into a realm that I've never been in before is challenging for me, but it's also fun to try to see how far I really can go with this."
Robinson's father, Jacque Robinson, was a legendary athlete at Washington; he is in the Rose Bowl Hall of Fame after being named MVP of the game in 1982 as a freshman. He also enjoyed a brief NFL career with the Philadelphia Eagles in 1987.
Jacque introduced his son to boxing through Muhammad Ali and -- a bit coincidentally, since he's fighting on his undercard -- Tyson. Growing up, if you stayed at Robinson's home for a sleepover or just for fun, somehow the gloves would get pulled out to teach life lessons. Nate's brother, Anthony "Chicken" Stewart -- who was a running back at Central Washington University -- wasn't afraid to get busy, either.
"We had a heavy bag in our backyard. We had weights and we had boxing gloves and my dad was like, 'At least y'all are going to know how to fight, and y'all will know how to take care of each other,'" Robinson recalled. "So my dad was like, 'If you've got some homies that are coming around you, and guys are being around y'all and something happens, and they run or they're not trying to fight or protect the crew, then y'all don't need to hang around them.'"
Robinson got into a handful of fights in middle school in high school, but that was the extent to which he used his backyard boxing experiences. Until now. These days he's receiving advice from Floyd Mayweather Jr. via FaceTime, and although he couldn't make it, Robinson was invited to train with welterweight champion Terence Crawford.
Despite the focus on boxing, Nate Robinson still hopes for an opportunity to return to the NBA. FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP/Getty Images
Robinson spent 11 seasons in the NBA and hasn't ruled out a return if there's an opportunity.
"I do. If it's possible," Robinson said of playing again. "I just want the chance to show a team, even at 36, I could still play and still ball out, still be a good spark off the bench. But times have changed, the NBA has changed so much. Naw, I will never say I'm retired. They retired me. I didn't retire.
"Of course I would love to hoop," Robinson added. "I would love to be able to finish my career playing the game I love and showing them that I really could still ball and be effective. Even if it's five minutes, 10 minutes, just being there helping out with whatever they need. Whatever they need me to do, I'm there. That's what I'm here for."
Whether or not he plays another minute in the NBA, Robinson's connections to the league are deep. Fellow Washington native Zach LaVine of the Chicago Bulls has gotten to know Robinson over the years and has watched the transformation of Robinson's body into a boxer. He will be tuned in to the bout.
"He is a supreme athlete. Realistically, he was one of UW's best cornerbacks and probably could've been an NFL cornerback. Obviously, you know how good he was in the NBA, and right now he's in the best shape of his life. The dude is built like a fire hydrant," LaVine said. "I mean, like, he is stacked, so whatever he puts his mind to, I know he can get it done.
"Boxing is a whole different world, so he's been training for the last eight or nine months," LaVine continued. "He's transformed his body into looking like a real boxer, too, so I don't think anybody's gonna be stepping to him in Seattle anytime soon."
Outperforming expectations has become Robinson's calling card, and that boils down to his determination and effort in everything he pursues.
"I hope I surprise a lot of people, because a lot of people think I'm gonna lose," Robinson said. "They don't believe in me, and that's cool. I told them, 'S---, people didn't believe I could make it to the NBA. People didn't believe I'd be able to score 40 points in a game, to average 18 as a 5-foot-9 point guard playing with the Knicks. Nobody thought I was going to win three dunk contests.'
"People have been putting me behind the eight ball my whole life, but it's something that I'm used to. I've been the underdog forever, and it's just going to be sweet to know that so many people didn't believe in me and I get a chance to show them again."
How former NBA star Nate Robinson ended up boxing on Mike Tyson's undercard
Nate the Great
Conscious Pilot
Do Better.
The axe murderer
For I am death and I ride on a pale horse
Pretty good weekend of boxing.
DAZN n PBC held it down and kept me entertained.
DAZN n PBC held it down and kept me entertained.
Shout out to Nate, I enjoy watching his mini youtube series. It’s crazy he’s played in the NBA and D1 collegiate football and says this is the hardest he’s ever had to workout.