A bloodied Tyson Fury secured victory over Otto Wallin after surviving a major scare in Las Vegas.
The Gypsy King suffered a nasty cut in the third round just above his right eye after he was caught with a vicious right from the unfancied Wallin.
The wound troubled Fury throughout the first-half of the contest with the fight doctor repeatedly taking a look at the damage - prompting concerns the fight might be stopped at the T-Mobile Arena.
In Pictures | Tyson Fury vs Otto Wallin and undercard | 15/09/19
After one prolonged check in the sixth round, Fury returned with urgency, landing spiteful shots that slowed down and punished the impressive Wallin.
A superb flurry in the ninth sent Wallin into the ropes and while the Swede rallied again late on in the final round, opening that cut up once again, it wasn't enough.
Fury survived the scare, and having dominated the mid-to-late rounds, secured a 116-112 117-111 118-110 unanimous decision win.
This was Fury's second fight since last December's hugely controversial draw with WBC champion Deontay Wilder, having eased past Tom Schwarz in June.
The Manchester fighter extends his professional record to 29-0-1 with a rematch with Wilder now firmly in his sights.
Top Rank promoter Bob Arum revealed the day before the fight terms for the Wilder rematch have been agreed, insisting the fighters will split the purse 50-50 when they meet on 22 February.
Arum also claimed the winner of the rematch will be entitled t a majority share of the purse for a third fight between the two to finally settle their rivalry.
Read More
Fury vs Wallin stat pack
- Wallin is an undefeated heavyweight from Sweden, boasting a professional record of 20-0 with 13 KO wins.
- The 28-year-old has fought just once in 16 months however – a no contest with Nick Kisner in his only previous fight outside of Europe
- Fury meanwhile is fighting State-side for the third time on the bounce.
- No title is on the line tonight – but Fury remains the heavyweight division’s lineal champion and remains The Ring’s Magazine’s no.1 heavyweight.
- Wallin is ranked fourth by the WBA and 11th by the IBF but has never fought someone of Fury’s calibre.
- Neither men have particularly big KO ratios – Fury’s is 69% with Wallin at 62%.
Wallin looking to replicate Swedish great Johansson
Wallin’s inspiration tonight in Ingemar Johansson – who travelled to America in 1959 to stop Floyd Patterson in three rounds to take the world heavyweight title.
Photo: Getty
What’s at stake for Fury?
Simply put, defeat for Fury would be catastrophic. A loss would surely dash hopes of that Wilder rematch. But at 1/33 on to win, nothing out of the ordinary is expected.
Here's how the show looks tonight:
• Emanuel Navarrete vs Juan Miguel Elorde
• Jose Pedraza vs Jose Zepeda
• Isaac Lowe vs Ruben Garcia Hernandez
• Felix Valera vs Vyascheslav Shabranskyy
• Carlos Cuadras vs Jose Maria Cardenas
• Gabriel Flores Jr vs Miguel Angel Perez Aispuro
• Isidro Ochoa vs Iskander Kharsan
• Guido Vianello vs Cassius Anderson
• Abram Martinez vs Kevin Johnson
Eddie Hearn not impressed
Another tune up fight for Fury hasn’t gone down well with everyone – with Matchroom chief Eddie Hearn branding it ‘bad for boxing’.
He told Behind the Gloves: “This fight is a shambles.
Photo: Getty
“You’ve got what some people call the best heavyweight in the world and the lineal champion selling 1,500 tickets in Las Vegas in a fight no one is even talking about. ‘Liken that to Anthony Joshua, who if he was fighting Otto Wallin, there’d be 20,000 people there and everyone would be talking about it.
“Even AJ is saying to me now, ‘Everyone else gets away with it, maybe I should just fight one of these guys next time out’.
"Sometimes you can get away with one. Getting away with two is greedy and it’s come back to bite him in the arse. It’s not good for boxing.”
Fury not underestimating Wallin
While the Wilder rematch is on the horizon, Fury isn’t looking beyond his opponent tonight.
"I don't underestimate anybody, I will respect everyone," said Fury.
Photo: Getty
"I will train for a man like he has 20 knockouts in a row. The tall southpaw is always a challenge but I have never met a challenge I couldn't defeat or a mountain I couldn't climb - he will be no exception.
"Hopefully we go for a beer afterwards."
Fury relishing Mexican challenge
Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez’s decision not to fight on Mexican Independence weekend left a sizeable hole in the boxing calendar – one Fury was happy to fill.
"What people don't know is I wasn't supposed to box this weekend," Fury said.
"When we heard that Canelo Alvarez wasn't going to be fighting on Mexican Independence weekend we thought, 'Damn, what a shock' because this is a special weekend in Las Vegas for boxing.
Photo: Getty
"I thought the Mexican people are not going to have a main attraction so I decided to step in and bring my fight date four weeks closer just so the Mexican people could have a main event, a massive, superstar fighter boxing on this weekend.
"I was already very fit even a week into training camp. I always train twice a day now so it doesn't matter how soon the fights come about I will always be ready.
"It is very hard, obviously, but when you get in the routine of it, it becomes very easy."
Fury will make Wilder ‘look silly’
Victory tonight will lead Fury into that hugely anticipated rematch with WBC champion Deontay Wilder – providing the American gets past Luis Ortiz later this year.
Unsurprisingly, Ben Davison is backing his man to take the belt and brutally expose the champion’s shortcomings.
Photo:
"Of course there are things he (Wilder) could do better and I am sure he will be working on it.
"I know in the back of his mind, no matter what he says, he will be thinking 'there is potential for me to be made to look silly in this rematch' and he will use that as fuel to improve.
"I know there will be a better version of Deontay Wilder than from the first fight but I also know there will be a better version of Tyson Fury as well.
"With Deontay Wilder you can't be reckless, you have to be smart, calculated. It is a big risk but there is big reward.
"They both, in principle, have agreed to fight but both have fights to get through."
Fury’s lineal champion status
Tonight’s bout is being billed as a ‘lineal heavyweight championship match’ – with Fury still ranked as the no.1 heavyweight in boxing by The Ring Magazine.
His trainer Ben Davison explained: "The most legitimate man you could've beat in any era to become the lineal heavyweight champion of the world was Wladimir Klitschko.
"Wladimir was only short of Joe Louis in terms of the longest-reigning heavyweight title holder and that is who Tyson beat (in 2015) - the most dominant heavyweight of the modern era.
Photo: PA
"If that doesn't give you the legitimate status of lineal heavyweight champion...there would have been a difference when Tyson had that time out of the ring if number one had fought number two, you could have said 'do you know what, you're going to have to give that status to him' but they didn't fight.
"He (Fury) came back and within six months he fought the number one (Wilder) and 90 per cent of the boxing world believed he won that fight.
"He is rightfully, until someone beats him who is number one, the lineal heavyweight champion of the world."
Fury back in Vegas
After dismantling Tom Schwarz in June, Fury is back in the boxing capital of the world tonight. As per usual, all eyes are on him.
Photo: Getty