Lineal heavyweight champion Tyson Fury's fight with Otto Wallin was made official on Tuesday with Top Rank formally announcing the bout.
The fight will take place at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on Sept. 14 (ESPN+, main event at approximately 11 p.m. ET with undercard beginning at 7:30 p.m. ET). It fills an opening at the venue that originally was on hold for middleweight world champion Canelo Alvarez's next defense on Mexican Independence Day weekend, before Alvarez announced last month that he would instead fight later in the year.
Fury and Wallin, who came to terms on the bout two weeks ago but had not yet signed, were both in New York on Tuesday for a round of appearances to kick off the promotion.
England's Fury (28-0-1, 20 KOs), who turned 31 on Monday, will be making the fifth defense of the lineal title and participating in his second bout since signing a co-promotional deal with Top Rank in February. He debuted for the company, which co-promotes him with Frank Warren, on June 15 on ESPN+ and knocked out Germany's then-unbeaten Tom Schwarz in the second round at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Fury's Las Vegas debut.
"I am pleased to be back in Las Vegas," Fury said. "I loved my time there in my last fight and I am going to put on a show at the T-Mobile Arena. Otto Wallin is a world-ranked fighter and is tall (6-foot-5½), something we want with the Deontay Wilder rematch around the corner. He is also a southpaw, which will bring its own obstacles, but I will be fully focused to get this job done because the rematch needs to happen."
A Fury victory will set him up for a rematch with world titleholder Wilder (41-0-1, 40 KOs) that has already been agreed to for early 2020. They fought to a controversial draw on Dec. 1 in Los Angeles, with Fury outboxing Wilder for long stretches but also getting knocked down twice -- in the ninth round and very hard in the 12th round that he somehow survived.
Wilder also has an interim bout on deck before the rematch with Fury. He is due to meet Luis "King Kong" Ortiz in a rematch that is penciled in for Nov. 9 at a site to be determined.
"Tyson Fury electrified Las Vegas last time he fought, and he is set to do it again against a tough kid in Otto Wallin," Top Rank chairman Bob Arum said. "Tyson knows what's at stake, and I expect him to have another masterful performance. He is the best heavyweight in the world and is only beginning to show everyone what he's capable of."
Wallin (20-0, 13 KOs), 28, of Sweden, aims to ruin the plans for Wilder-Fury II.
"This is the type of fight I've been waiting for since I was a kid and my father started showing me some boxing moves in our kitchen," Wallin said. "I've made a lot of sacrifices to get to this point and I'm very happy it's starting to pay off. I want to thank my team and my supporters for making this happen.
"I know I'm an underdog in this fight, but I'm ready for this opportunity and I'm going to grab it with both hands. Anybody can get beat and especially in the heavyweight division. I like the fact that I have everything to gain and Tyson has everything to lose."
Said Dmitriy Salita, Wallin's promoter: "He grew up in a small town in Sweden, worked hard and dreamed big! He plans to follow in the footsteps of countryman Ingemar Johansson and score the big win against lineal world heavyweight champion Tyson Fury. It will be an exciting fight from the opening bell, which I believe will end in a historic upset in Las Vegas."
Wallin made his United States debut in his last fight, which was ruled a first-round no contest against journeyman Nick Kisner on April 13 in Atlantic City, New Jersey. The fight ended because Kisner suffered a bad cut from an accidental head butt and he was unable to continue.
"It is another undefeated boxer (Fury) is facing and a contest where a victory will set up the Deontay Wilder rematch. Otto Wallin knows this is his big chance, and Tyson will not be underestimating him," Warren said.