Fury Survives Scare, Defeats Wallin

Tyson Fury has fulfilled his part of securing a February 2020 WBC heavyweight title rematch with Deontay Wilder, but it wasn’t the easy path most thought it would be. Otto Wallin delivered quite the challenge against Fury and damaged him, though Fury survived to take a unanimous decision.

What an incredible 12 Rounds from @Tyson_Fury. 😤

📸 @GEICO Photo of the Fight for #FuryWallin 📸 pic.twitter.com/jYf0ZptSPg

— Top Rank Boxing (@trboxing) September 15, 2019

The fight headlined a Top Rank Boxing card at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.

The opening round was fairly quiet, though Wallin connected with the most notable punch of the three minutes — a left straight. And that was the start of an unexpected chain of events that would go on throughout the fight. Wallin briefly cornered Fury in the second round, though “The Gypsy King” looked like he was starting to find his groove.

The third round saw the biggest talking point of the fight, as a cut developed on Fury’s right eyebrow, and Wallin continued to open it in the fourth. After a quiet fifth round, the doctor was asked to look at the cut during the sixth. Fury was cleared to go, and that’s when he turned things up.

After sustaining a blow to the head, @Tyson_Fury is in a race against time to defeat Otto Wallin at #FuryWallin with the Lineal Heavyweight Championship on the line. pic.twitter.com/8CuJGU5Pdo

— Top Rank Boxing (@trboxing) September 15, 2019

Fury threw flurry after flurry, troubling the Swedish fighter in the halfway frame. And in response, as the referee tried to separate the pair at one point, Wallin raked at the cut in a dirty attempt to worsen it.

From here on, Fury’s punches looked stronger and faster, while Wallin appeared as if he had little energy left in the tank. Wallin tried to rake at the cut again in the eighth, but in the next round, he developed a small cut under his own eye. Fury didn’t let up on his attack in the 10th and delivered painful body blows in the 11th despite Wallin’s attempts to stop his momentum.

9️⃣ Rounds in.

We’ve got a Heavyweight battle in Vegas. Stay tuned. #FuryWallin pic.twitter.com/GeqSAMRU4E

— Top Rank Boxing (@trboxing) September 15, 2019

Wallin had one last gasp in the final round, forcing Fury back with several shots, as Fury attempted to clinch up and hang on.

Fury ultimately came away with the win on all three judges’ scorecards, 116-112, 117-111, 118-110.

In the co-feature bout, Emmanuel Navarrete successfully retained the WBO super bantamweight title against Juan Miguel Elorde, overwhelming the challenger before the ref halted the bout in the fourth.

Tyson Fury def. Otto Wallin via unanimous decision (116-112, 117-111, 118-110)
WBO super bantamweight championship: (c.) Emanuel Navarrete def. Juan Miguel Elorde via TKO (Rd. 4, 0:26)