Tyson Fury survived a dramatic upset bid from Otto Wallin on Saturday night in Las Vegas. The 31-year-old heavyweight from Manchester stayed on course for a hotly anticipated rematch with Deontay Wilder.
Fury overcame a flat opening, a gruesome cut and an unheralded but fearless challenger to take command in the second half of the 12-round fight, winning a unanimous decision by scores of 116-112, 117-111 and 118-110.
The central crisis arose in the third round when Wallin connected with a left hand flush on Fury’s right eye that opened up a wide gash and immediately began streaming blood.
dirty af boxing #FuryvsWallin #furywallin pic.twitter.com/ZlaX67xtYC
— Steve (@SteveKMMA) September 15, 2019
“It is all heart and determination,” said Fury, who landed 179 of 651 blows (28%) according to Compubox’s punch statistics, compared to 127 of 334 (38%) for Wallin. “If I can keep going I will keep going. He’s a tough guy. I hit him with some chin shots and some body shots, and he kept coming. He [was] undefeated, but tonight I was the man.”
“I tried to hit it even more,” Wallin said afterward. “I know it was a punch that did it. I was happy that he was cut, but I wish I could have put more pressure on it.”
