Otto Wallin declared his intentions to challenge for a world heavyweight title after defeating Dominic Breazeale via unanimous decision in Uncasville, Connecticut, on Saturday.
The Swedish slugger won all three judges' scorecards by 117-111, 118-110 and 116-112 to continue his recovery from the only defeat of his career so far, to current WBC champion Tyson Fury.
Wallin now has his sights set on earning a title opportunity of his own. That could involve a return bout against Fury, something the 30-year-old has lobbied for ever since putting in an admirable performance in defeat. It could also be against Fury's next opponent Anthony Joshua, who holds the WBA, WBO and IBF titles ahead of their planned unification megafight.
“I think I had an advantage because I fought here before,” said Wallin after the fight (transcription courtesy of World Boxing News). “I was more focused this time, and I think I came out better than what I did last time.
"We knew coming in that I had better footwork, better speed, so I wanted to use that. And I have good defense too. He hit me here and there but nothing too serious.
"Before the fight, I said I gotta do what I’m good at, and that’s what I tried to do. My ultimate goal is to be a heavyweight champion. But I have to keep improving. I’m not there yet. I’ve got a lot of work to do. I’m getting better.
“I’m not so focused on who I fight. I want to fight, keep it stepping it up, and when I get another shot, I’ll be ready for it.”
Wallin, who lives and trains in New York City under former world champion Joey Gamache, may also have his eye on the delicate situations involving the WBO and IBF belts.
There is a strong possibility that whoever wins between Fury and Joshua will vacate the WBO belt the very next day, elevating the winner of the planned interim title fight between Joe Joyce and Oleksandr Usyk to full champion and creating another path to championship glory.
If Fury beats AJ to unify, he has also hinted that he will immediately discard the IBF title due to bad blood over his first reign. Fury dethroned Wladimir Klitschko in 2015 for the unified heavyweight championship but was soon stripped by the IBF due to politics surrounding their demands for a mandatory challenger and Klitschko's contracted rematch.
“I let the early rounds get away from me,” said 2012 US Olympian Breazeale on the defeat. “Otto is a good boxer and did a good job of sticking and moving the whole fight. I did a little bit too much head-hunting at the start and paid for it on the back-end.”