Boxing

OTTO WALLIN believes he left Tyson Fury as a vulnerable fighter ever since their bloodbath battle. Fury beat Wallin on points in 2019 but a left hook in round three opened up a horror gash on the British legend.
Tyson Fury needed 47 stitches after his fight with Otto WallinCredit: Getty
The cut that forced Fury’s fight with Oleksandr Usyk to be cancelledCredit: QUEENSBERRY PROMOTIONS
The Gypsy King battled through almost all the fight barely able to see out of his blood-soaked right eye.
Fast forward nearly five years and Fury sustained another horror cut on his right eye, this time in a sparring session.
It occurred only two weeks before the fight of his life against Oleksandr Usyk for the undisputed title on February 17 in Saudi Arabia.
Wallin feels the damage he caused Fury all those years ago has proven long-lasting and something Usyk can exploit.
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He told SunSport: “I’m not a doctor but he had 47 stitches, it was two cuts he had when we fought.
“So of course, I feel that he’s probably going to be vulnerable. It’s also interesting that another southpaw opened it up.
“Of course, Usyk is going to be aware of that but with Tyson you can’t just go for the head or a cut like that, because you might lose your gameplan.
“I think Usyk is smart enough to look at the tapes and see that he really needs to go to the body to set things up.” 
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Fury, 35, is now set to face Usyk, 37, on the rescheduled date on May 18.
Meanwhile Wallin, 33, is coming off a brutal five-round beating against Anthony Joshua, 34, in December.
Legendary cutman Stitch Duran reveals how long it will take Tyson Fury to heal from horror cut that postponed Oleksandr Usyk fight
Fury’s performance and tactics against Wallin were slammed by outspoken dad John and sparked a huge change in his career.
He left trainer Ben Davison for American Sugarhill Steward, packed on the pounds and ditched his elusive style in favour of power punching.
It saw him go onto defeat Deontay Wilder twice, KO Dillian Whyte, stop Derek Chisora and edge past ex-UFC champion Francis Ngannou.
Wallin admits the man he shared 12 gruelling rounds with is completely different to the Fury of today.
Otto Wallin: I will be back OTTO WALLIN briefly considered his career after defeat to Anthony Joshua.
But following a three-week rest period, Wallin is ready to go back to the drawing board and work his way back up.
He told us: “For me now, it’s kind of understanding where I’m at.
“I’m not close to a title shot right now so I just want to take things step by step and not look too far ahead. 
“I feel it’s important for me to understand where I am and to work my way up because if you only think about becoming world champion, it feels far away right now. 
“I need to take it step by step and rebuild.”

He said: “He’s gone into a way where he’s looking for the knockout more. But I think that he’s not using his feints and he likes to go for the knockouts. 
“People want to see knockouts but like I said, what made Fury good was his jabs, his feints, his awkwardness. 
“So he’s got to keep that in there and if he can keep everything together; the knockout power that he’s shown, the awkwardness, then I think he’ll be the best in the world.” 
Fury beat Wallin on points despite his horror cutCredit: Getty More

ANTHONY OGOGO has opened up on the heart-breaking eye injury that forced him to retire from boxing at the age of 30.The ace, 35, was once tipped to be Britain’s next big boxer after coming through the Team GB ranks ahead of Anthony Joshua.
Anthony Ogogo was once tipped to be the biggest name in British boxingCredit: Getty
Ogogo started his career with a bronze medal at London 2012Credit: PA:Press Association
Ogogo set the stage for a successful career in the ring after winning the bronze medal at the London 2012 Olympic Games.
He won his first 11 fights, setting up a battle against Craig Cunningham for the vacant WBC International middleweight title in 2016.
But Ogogo suffered defeat to his fellow Brit and ended up fracturing his eye socket.
It would prove to be his last-ever boxing fight, as Ogogo struggled to get diagnosed correctly by doctors.
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He almost ended up going blind after having nine surgeries and eventually called it a day in 2019.
But after reinventing himself as an actor, podcaster and wrestler, Ogogo is now enjoying boxing again after training with iconic fighter Butterbean.
Ogogo told talkSPORT: “(It was the) hardest time of my life. My press conference was way bigger than Joshua’s, way bigger than Luke Campbell’s. I was going to be the face of Golden Boy UK.
“I had everything it takes to get to the top of this world, and then my eye blew up. Those three years, from hurting my eye in 2016 to retiring in 2019 were the hardest three years of my life.
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“I wouldn’t wish it upon anybody. I had nine surgeries. During one of my surgeries, my heart stopped on the operating table. Now, my life is being played with and I still chose to have [five] more surgeries.”
One nearly going blind, Ogogo said: “The fracture I sustained wasn’t that bad. It was the misdiagnosis, the wrong surgery, the injection went vastly wrong. I must’ve done something really bad in a previous life to get the unfortunate circumstances I dealt with.
Boxer Anthony Ogogo has retired from the sport after admitting defeat in his bid to recover from eye injuries
He won his first 11 pro fights but lost to Craig Cunningham in 2016Credit: Getty
An eye injury saw Ogogo almost go blind, and he needed nine surgeries before retiring in 2019Credit: Getty
“I saw Kell [Brook’s] doctor after I’d already had the wrong surgery. Dr. Muhammad Ali, believe it or not, and he said to me, ‘You need a time machine because once they did that your career was done’.
“The fracture I had was nowhere near as bad as Kell’s, in either of his eyes, but what they did messed everything up and I can never get that back.
“I lost my career, my passion, my vision in my left eye and any potential case to compensate me for this really bad journey I went on. It took a long time to shrug all that off.”
On his friendship with Butterbean, who is eyeing a boxing comeback, Ogogo added: “I know Bean really well, he’s such a nice guy.
“He was on death’s door. He was too big to get new hips. He lost loads of weight, got new hips and fast forward 18 months I’m doing six rounds on the pads with him.
“He can still bang! The boy can still bang, mate! My job with him is boxing work and also mind-set stuff, health stuff.

“You know, he’s a great example, he’s been down, and he got back up and now he wants one more fight.
“He wants to end his story with one more fight and I’ll be in his corner on fight night because I like him, care for him, trust him, have trained him and I want to be there to protect him.”
Ogogo has reinvented himself as a wrestler and is now coaching boxing icon ButterbeanCredit: X formerly Twitter / @AnthonyOgogo
The legendary fighter is looking to get back in the ringCredit: AFP More

FRANK WARREN has blasted Tyson Fury’s “pathetic” critics and said experts “should know better.” Fury was forced out of his scheduled February 17 undisputed title decider in Saudi Arabia against Oleksandr Usyk due to injury.
Tyson Fury has blasted Tyson Fury’s ‘pathetic’ criticsCredit: Reuters
The cut he sustained in sparring just two weeks from the bout required 14 stitches and saw the fight postponed till May 18.
Astonishingly, Fury faced baseless accusations that he set the whole thing up with Usyk’s manager Egis Klimas branding him a “coward.”
But his Hall of Fame promoter Warren came out swinging in defence of the Gypsy King.
He said on talkSPORT: “This is the fella that went to Germany to fight [Klitschko] for the world title and beat him.
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“This is the guy that went out [to America] to fight a guy that was undefeated in Deontay Wilder – six years reigning as heavyweight champion.
“The hardest punching heavyweight recorded and went out not once, but fought three times out there.
“Do me a favour, it’s pathetic, and professional fighters should know better.”
Carl Froch has been quick to blame Fury for the cut due to the headguard he was wearing.
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And American former world champion Timothy Bradley even insinuated the injury could have been staged.
Still Fury – who needed a controversial split-decision against ex-UFC champion Francis Ngannou in his last fight – has retained the backing of his promoter against Usyk.
Tyson Fury’s manager reckons there IS a ‘mole’ in Gypsy King’s camp after sparring ‘leaks’ ahead of Oleksandr Usyk fight
Warren said: “I do think that he will beat him, I think Tyson is the best heavyweight on the planet.
“His last fight against Ngannou, he wasn’t at his best, but he came through and won the fight.”
Tyson Fury with promoter Frank WarrenCredit: PA More

OLEKSANDR USYK has been backed to BEAT Tyson Fury by the man who so nearly did it himself. The unbeaten champions will square off in the heavyweight division’s first ever four-belt unification bout on May 18 in Saudi Arabia.
Tyson Fury was floored by Steve Cunningham in 2013Credit: Action Images – Reuters
But Usyk will not be the first ex-cruiserweight champion Fury has shared the ring with.
In 2013 in New York, in his American debut, the Gypsy King took on then-heavyweight newbie Steve Cunningham.
Cunningham famously floored Fury and drew up an early lead before being worn down and taken out in round seven.
Now the American is tipping Usyk to do what he couldn’t and become the first to defeat Fury.
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Cunningham, 47, told iFL TV: “I think Usyk can beat Fury for two specific reasons. The first is Usyk’s ability, his skill-set, it’s unmatched,
“He’s got quirky movements; he’s awkward. He thinks different in there, he takes angles.
“He’s the highest level of boxing that we see right now. He can land shots on Fury that can cause considerable frustration for Fury.
“The second reason is his team, his management. He’s managed by Egis [Klimas]. They’re powerhouses in Europe and around the world.
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“Egis has a solid foundational career with moving fighters and protecting them.”
Fury has admitted in the past how Cunningham was the trickiest customer has came across in his career.
Inside Oleksandr Usyk’s training camp as boxer continues brutal regime despite Tyson Fury postponement
He told Joe Rogan in 2018: “Believe it or not, this is gonna sound strange – Cunningham was the hardest fight I ever did have in my whole career, amateur or professional.”
Fury used his superior size to gain an advantage on the smaller Cunningham, something Usyk will be aware of.
Cunningham added: “With Fury, we all know he uses some tactics that are borderline.
“I wouldn’t say illegal. He hasn’t been disqualified yet, but they’re borderline, and they gain him an advantage.

“Him being 6’9”, 260 lbs. All he does is take a couple of hits, block them, and lean on the guy throughout the fight
“He did it to me, he did it to Wilder. He did it to fighters that you want to wear down.
“Later on, your looking fresh because they’re drained because they’ve been carrying your 260-lb body around. So, you can do whatever you want to them
“I don’t think Egis and the team are going to allow that without Fury being penalised.
“If Fury can get past the management part, controlling the officiating, with the referee being in his ear, Fury can beat him if he can get past all of that.
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“But outside of that, I lean a little bit towards Usyk.”
Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk are set to fight on May 18Credit: EPA More