Lineal heavyweight champion Tyson Fury and Otto Wallin have come to terms to meet on Sept. 14, Top Rank vice president Carl Moretti told ESPN on Friday.
The fight, which will headline a Top Rank Boxing on ESPN+ card, will take place at an MGM property in Las Vegas, meaning the MGM Grand Garden Arena, T-Mobile Arena or Mandalay Bay Events Center, Moretti said.
“The paperwork is being drafted but there is an agreement,” Moretti said.
Top Rank chairman Bob Arum and Wallin promoter Dmitriy Salita of Salita Promotions have been speaking about the possibility of the bout for about a week, Moretti said.
Other available fighters Top Rank discussed as a possible opponent for Fury included former world title challenger Johann Duhaupas (37-5, 24 KOs), of France, and New Zealand’s unbeaten but untested Junior Fa (18-0, 10 KOs).
Fury (28-0-1, 20 KOs), 30, of England, will be in his second fight 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 and knocked out Germany’s then-unbeaten Tom Schwarz in the second round at the MGM Grand Garden Arena on ESPN+.
“I think it’s great Tyson Fury wants to get right back in the ring and stay active,” Moretti said. “It’s something uncommon nowadays.”
A Fury victory will set him up for an already agreed upon rematch with world titleholder Deontay Wilder in early 2020. Wilder (41-0-1, 40 KOs), who fought to a controversial draw with Fury on Dec. 1 in Los Angeles, also is scheduled for an interim bout. He is supposed to face Luis “King Kong” Ortiz in a rematch that likely will take place on Nov. 9 at a site to be determined.
The untested Wallin (20-0, 13 KOs), 28, of Sweden, made his United States debut in his last fight, a first-round no contest against journeyman Nick Kisner on April 13 in Atlantic City, New Jersey. That Showtime-televised fight ended because Kisner suffered a bad cut caused by an accidental head butt and was unable to continue.