Action Network has spoken to Swedish heavyweight Otto Wallin in an exclusive interview ahead of his clash with Onorede Ehwarieme, known as ‘Godzilla’.
Wallin returns to the site of his first boxing bout on US soil at the Tropicana Hotel & Casino, Atlantic City, this Friday.
Some of the best sportsbooks out there are backing Wallin as the favorite against Ehwarieme, as of writing.
Ehwarieme Doesn’t Like It When It Starts Getting Tough
Q: What’s your approach going to be against Onoriode Ehwarieme? Do you see any weaknesses in his game that you could exploit? Ehwarieme has a 95% knockout rate – Would something like this affect the way you train for a fight?
Otto Wallin: My approach against this opponent is to be myself.
In terms of his weakness, Ehwarieme doesn't like when it starts getting tough – he's there to be hit and once I put a little pressure on him, he's not gonna like it.
I just have to be smart because, like you say, he has a 95% knockout ratio. I’ve got to be aware at all times and and be mindful of his power so I don't walk into anything.
But it doesn't change how I train for a fight. I'm always training very seriously and always try to do the best I can in training. But of course defense is always very important. That's something I'm always working on.
Q: Who would you most like to fight after Ehwarieme? You mentioned Dillian Whyte in a previous interview.
OW: I would love to fight Dillian. We were supposed to fight in 2021, actually, and then he pulled out, like, 10 days before saying he had a shoulder problem.
He went out to fight Fury, obviously. But I would love to fight him, and that could be my next fight. I think that's a really good fight.
That would be perfect, I think, in this situation, I'm in now as a free agent.
AJ In Five
Q: Daniel Dubois against Anthony Joshua – how do you see this going?
OW: I think that Dubois and Joshua will be a good fight. If Dubois comes out like he did in his last fight against Hrgovic, he was hit a lot, with one-two's. You can't take those shots from Joshua because his punch is very, very hard.
So if he comes out the same way against Joshua, then I think Joshua wins by knockout before round five. But if Dubois has tightened up his defense a little bit and can hit Joshua with a few good shots then it could turn into an interesting fight.
Q: With the winner of this facing Tyson Fury – who do you think would give him the most trouble?
OW: Well, as I see it right now, I think that Joshua definitely will give Fury more trouble than Dubois at this point. But Dubois is also dangerous, a good puncher, and he's also a young guy, so things can change!
Deontay Wilder Should Put His Health First
Q: Tyson Fury and Usyk’s rematch – how do you think this will go?
OW: The Fury and Usyk rematch… I think that it's really hard to say.
I think that the first one was very, very close, but Usyk deserved to win. Fury definitely has a chance to win, but you’ve got to see Usyk as the favorite after the first one. But anything could happen, so it's very hard to pick a winner there.
Q: Deontay Wilder has two consecutive losses – what do you think of people who say he should retire?
OW: It's just up to him. It's not up to me or anybody else to tell him to retire or not, but, yes, looking at him, he hasn't looked the same as he used to. But like I say, it's up to him. If he wants to fight, then he can fight. If he doesn't, then he should retire.
He has kids, he's probably made good money in boxing. So I think right now that he should put his health first and just think everything through and then see what he comes up with.
