Otto Wallin expects the tough challenge even he didn’t anticipate in his last fight.

A crossroads bout with former two-time title challenger Dominic Breazeale should provide insight as to where the Swedish southpaw belongs in the heavyweight landscape. The bout is viewed as the most competitive—on paper—of a Showtime-televised tripleheader which airs live this Saturday from Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut.

“It’s nice to be back on Showtime and in a big fight with Breazeale,” Wallin told krikya360.com of his second straight pay-cable appearance since the pandemic. “They had me on in August. I’m somewhat active but it’s good. A lot of people are interested in this fight and I’m looking forward to it.”

Wallin (21-1, 14KOs) was out of the ring for 11 months and sitting on the lone loss of his career—a 12-round unanimous decision to Tyson Fury (30-0-1, 21KOs) in Sept. 2019—by the time he made his way back to the ring last summer. The 30-year old from Sundsvall, Sweden—now based out of New York City—was paired with Travis Kauffman, whom he stopped inside of five rounds.

Kauffman hails from a boxing family and knows his way around a ring, though has long seen better days. The fight with Wallin was one-sided before Kauffman bowed out from a shoulder injury, leaving Wallin with his first win in 16 months but unfulfilled in regard to testing his mettle versus a serviceable contender.

There remains a question as to whether that will come this weekend. Both losses for Breazeale (20-2, 18KOs) have come on the title stage, suffering knockout defeats to then-unbeaten heavyweight titlists Anthony Joshua and Deontay Wilder. The California native has managed to outlast everyone else he’s faced, having survived slugfests and knockdowns among his 20 career victories. 

“Kaufmann is a solid fighter but he’s more or less an opponent at this point. I think Breazeale is better,” notes Wallin. “He’s a big, strong guy, tough and durable. His only losses are in world championship fights to Anthony Joshua and Deontay Wilder. He’s a come-forward guy and he’s going to try to hurt me.”

Jake Donovan is a senior writer for krikya360.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox