This week’s installment of the digital podcast series SHOWTIME BOXING WITH ERIC RASKIN AND KIERAN MULVANEY features heavyweight contender Otto Wallin, who recently recovered from COVID-19, and promoter Dmitriy Salita in an interview about life in quarantine and the effect the virus has had on the sport of boxing.
Plus, Hall of Fame analyst and boxing historian Steve Farhood joins this week’s Revenge: The Rematches segment to discuss Azumah Nelson vs. Jesse James Leija II, Gerald McClellan vs. Julian Jackson II, and Julio Cesar Chavez vs. Frankie Randall II. Click the following link to listen to the full episode.
Excerpts from the episode:
On COVID-19 and its effect on the sport of boxing
Salita – “It’s a really unpredictable environment right now. Boxing is an international sport. Now more than ever, fighters come to the U.S. from all over to train and fight. It’s really important that the whole world heals so that things can go back to normal.”
Wallin – “This virus is very serious. People are dying – people from the gym have died. I didn’t have many symptoms when I had it, but it spread to my mother’s boyfriend, who is a diabetic, and he was very ill. When you are home, don’t just stay on the couch. You have to come up with ideas to keep yourself busy and do something.”
On staying in shape during quarantine
Wallin – “I am trying to make the best of the situation, and I can do a lot with what I have now. It’s working alright. I do some boxing punching on the wall and lots of shadow boxing.”
On Salita Promotions’ Train Like a Boxer YouTube Series
Salita – “We were thinking of ways to keep connections between the fighters and the fans. Everyone is stuck at home, no one can go to work, and it’s important to stay healthy and active. We thought we could let the fans know about what the fighters are doing at home and keep communication between everyone going.”
On what’s next for Wallin
Salita – “In the fight with [Tyson] Fury, you can see how amazing his performance was. Numbers don’t lie; Otto landed more punches against Fury than any opponent, including [Vladimir] Klitschko and [Deontay] Wilder –in the first fight. Otto is a world-class fighter, and hopefully, we get back to business, and he can show that he is one of the best heavyweights in the world.”
On Chavez vs. Randall II
Farhood – “I think it was a sign Chavez was getting to the end, he was only 31, but he had 90 fights, and I think Randall got him at the right time. Watching Randall in both fights boxing so well reminded me a bit of Buster Douglas against [Mike] Tyson. This guy didn’t give you anything to think he could do something like this – just boxing beautifully. I thought Randall probably deserved the rematch decision by a point, but it was a very close fight.”
The weekly SHOWTIME BOXING podcast features Raskin and Mulvaney diving deep into the world of boxing and SHOWTIME boxing events. New episodes are released on all major podcast platforms every Monday, including Radio.com.
