Murat Gassiev vs Otto Wallin Prediction: Knockout - As Usual

On September 30, Murat Gassiev returns to the ring and gets another strange opponent. He will meet the Swedish boxer Otto Wallin in Turkey. The fight will be held in the heavyweight category.

The public pinned great hopes on the promising boxer Murat Gassiev and they had reasons for it. In 2018 he claimed two significant belts (WBA and IBF) in the first heavyweight, effectively and convincingly won in a unification bout against Yuniel Dorticos. He was 24 years old at the time and it seemed that only great things lay ahead of him. But life is hard. We rooted for him before the confrontation with Oleksandr Usyk for the title of absolute champion, hoping for success. But Murat lost, but, to be honest, deservedly.

And there came a black streak for Gassiev, which, it is not known whether it ended. Then he suffered injuries and misunderstandings with managers. In the end, Murat had four fights in five years with weaklings. Still, he successfully defeated these gentlemen, but already in the heavyweight category.

In his last bout, Murat knocked out Mike Balogun in March 2023.

This guy is known solely because he suffered his only defeat in his career Tyson Fury himself. At the same time, he lost by decision, looked quite decent and even caused some problems for the Gypsy King. Experts say that the bout with Wallin will be a kind of Rubicon for Murat. After that, we will see if he can become the same or if his career to be buried. They also say that Otto is the most dangerous of all his recent opponents, so dangerous that even his victory will not be a sensation.

Wallin is the first serious opponent for Gassiev after Oleksandr Usyk. The Swede is not easy, a big lefty. It will be a challenge for Murat. It's wrong to compare Wallin and Usyk. They have two different styles. They're just left-handers, but they have nothing in common. Otto will be more comfortable, he doesn't have the same legs as the Ukrainian. He will let him get within striking distance. Wallin is tough, he knows how to survive and not get hit. Even Tyson Fury had trouble with him. I think the chances in this fight are 50/50.

Andrei Bupas Ivychuk, professional boxing coach (worked with Andrei Arlovski)

Gassiev's trump cards are power pressure and punching power. He will definitely use them against Wallin, because he can't do it any other way. The Swede's advantage is being patient left-handed fighter with good technique. Will this be enough to withstand the pressure of the Iron Murat? Of course not, Otto Wallin is far from Oleksandr Usyk. When things get tough for the Swede, he simply rests his back against the ropes and tries to wait out the storm, taking punches - in a fight with Murat, that's lethal.

Gassiev as usual, not in a hurry, but inevitably like a tank, will press and his heavy punches will quickly find weaknesses in the defense. The only question is how tough is the Swede's character, his skull and liver. If all goes well, he will survive until the second half where he will be finished anyway; if not - we will see again how Murat will end the bout very quickly.