Otto Wallin looks to upset the odds this weekend by defeating Anthony Joshua and ruining future plans for the heavyweight superstar.
Wallin, 33, has steadily built back following a loss to Tyson Fury in 2019 in which he cut the Brit over the eye with a punch that threatened to end the fight. Despite a valiant effort, he lost via unanimous decision.
Despite it being a defeat, those twelve rounds have held Wallin in good standing ever since, and he has built up six wins, most recently over Murat Gassiev, to find himself facing ‘AJ.’
Joshua has two wins this year – a points win over Jermaine Franklin and knockout of Robert Helenius – that have allowed him to bounce back from losing his unified titles to Oleksandr Usyk and failing to regain them in a rematch.
Usyk’s southpaw stance and considerable skill have the Brit nightmare across their 24 rounds.
Joshua has said in the past that ‘southpaws are nightmares’, and the only other fighter of the same stance he has fought in his career was Charles Martin back in 2016 – a two round blowout that saw ‘AJ’ pick up his first world title.
Some have questioned the matchmaking with Wallin given he also fights out of the lefty stance, but, at the open workout ahead of fight night, the Swede trained orthodox.
Whether it’s mind games, something he does every so often or a glimpse at a switch-hitting plan for the fight remains to be seen. One thing’s for sure – Joshua and his new coach for this fight, Ben Davison, are set to be tested.
