Otto Wallin sounded really disappointed talking about his loss to Derek Chisora on Saturday night in their IBF heavyweight title eliminator at the Co-op Live Arena in Manchester, England.
Wallin’s View
Wallin said he felt that his tripping caused his knockdowns in the ninth and twelfth; it did look that way, but the referee, John Latham, ruled him down.
Wallin (27-3, 15 KOs) still would have lost because he was taking big shots from Chisora (36-13, 23 KOs), and he didn’t possess the power to answer back. He did do a lot of damage to Chisora’s face around both eyes, and his mouth was swollen.
Derek blamed his cut and swelling from a head clash. It looked like punches from Wallin did the damage. He hit Chisora often enough with his straight lefts and jabs to damage his face to the point where he looked like the loser of the fight afterward.
That was not a head clash that did that to Chisora’s face. Those were punches. He can’t continue taking those shots in his next fight. If you’re Chisora, you got to say something about why his face looked like a Sherman Tank had run over it. Using the old head clash excuse works for fans, but there was no headbutt. The cut and the swelling came from the left hands Wallin was hitting him with.
Many fans had picked the 34-year-old Wallin (27-3, 15 KOs) to defeat Chisora (36-13, 23 KOs) based on his youth, technical ability, and amateur background.
The scores were 114-112, 116-110 and 117-109.
“I tried. He’s a tough guy. Derek is 41-years-old. He’s a tough guy,” said Otto Wallin to iFL TV after his bitter defeat against Derek Chisora on Saturday night in Manchester.
“I respect him a lot. I was a little off balance [with the knockdown]. He probably hit me at the same time. I’m a southpaw, and sometimes your feet get tangled up, and you lose balance. I don’t know why. I have to look at the tape.
“He’s got good power. He’s one of the biggest punchers I’ve been in with. I tried. It wasn’t my night. Derek fought a great fight. He’s a solid fighter. I want to thank everybody for the support,” said Wallin.
Wallin didn’t say what he planned on doing now, as this defeat was terrible because an old low-level fighter beat him. His previous losses were against Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury. Losing to those guys is excusable, but not to Chisora.
Last Updated on 02/09/2025
