Otto Wallin (12-0, 10 KOs) adds heavyweight support to Team Sauerland’s historic Swedish show on September 19 as he battles Vladimir Goncharov (5-1, 4 KOs) at the Rosvalla Stora Ishallen at the Nyköpings Arenor in Nyköping, Sweden.
The undefeated fighter from Sundsvall will be competing in his first contest on Swedish soil since joining the paid ranks, and the 24 year-old heavyweight is eager to impress as he takes on the hard-hitting, former Russian Champion Goncharov.
‘’Goncharov is a dangerous opponent, but he has tasted defeat before, and on September 19, he will taste defeat again,’’ said Wallin. ‘’I just have to be myself, stay alert at all times, and we will see how he handles my boxing skills.
‘’He has a good knockout ratio but I don’t see him as a one-punch knockout artist. I think is style is more about breaking guys down, but he won’t have a chance to do that against me.
‘’I actually feel sorry for him. It’s unfortunate that he has to be the one standing in my way on my Swedish debut, as nothing is going to stop me. I’ve been waiting for this moment for a long time and I’m so happy that I finally get the chance to box at home. This is an opportunity for me to show everybody what I can do!
‘’I want to bring heavyweight boxing back to Sweden and become the first world champion since Ingemar Johansson. I have always looked up to Ingo! He showed that it was possible for a fighter from Sweden to become heavyweight champion of the world. It gives me hope and inspiration, that if I keep working hard and keep improving, I can emulate his success!’’
Said promoter Nisse Sauerland: ‘’Otto has the potential to become world champion. He’s still young and has a long road ahead of him, but he has the ability and desire to make his dream a reality. His level of opposition is constantly improving, and in Goncharov he will face his toughest test yet.’’
Wallin joins a star-studded Swedish line-up on September 19 featuring Erik Skoglund’s IBF Intercontinental Light Heavyweight Championship fight with Oleskandr Cherviak, Klara Svensson’s IBF Female World Light Welterweight Championship challenge against Marisa Gabriela Nunez and Anthony Yigit’s crunch light welterweight clash versus Chaquib Fadli.
Tickets are available via biljettforum.se.
As in September, I once again ran out of gas in the 10th & 11th championship rounds of October & November with this column, but I recovered to complete them and will unleash a few more flurries to close out the 12th and final round.
In the first week of October, Hassan N’Dam won a UD over Curtis Stevens in an eliminator for the right to challenge Jermaine Taylor who defeated aging Sam Soliman to regain the IBF Middleweight title. How Taylor even earned this title shot is another story altogether, but it is all irrelevant as he is now the champion. However he will not have too much time to savor his victory as he has assault and battery charges pending against him and an upcoming court fight that may turn out to be the toughest fight of his life, just when things started to look up for him in boxing, we wish him luck.
