Following the official announcement of Anthony Joshua’s December bout against Swedish heavyweight, Otto Wallin, a clip of one of the duo’s two amateur contests has been doing the rounds on social media.
Whilst some fans see the fight as a ‘warm-up’ for Joshua, there are plenty that believe the tricky southpaw could cause the Brit problems, especially considering ‘AJ’s two defeats to another lefty in Oleksandr Usyk and Wallin’s strong performance against Tyson Fury in 2019.
However, this will not be the first time that Joshua has squared off against the Swede. He defeated him twice as an amateur and has since employed Wallin’s services as a sparring partner in preparation for his first world title win against Charles Martin in 2016.
On social media, a clip of their first meeting, in the final of the Haringey Box Cup at Alexandra Palace in 2010, has been shared.
Joshua vs Wallin‼️🥊 pic.twitter.com/peo4hGGCJU
— LondonRunzBoxing (@LondonRunz) November 14, 2023
Joshua got the unanimous decision win on that night, and also in Sweden the following year.
However, Wallin has explained that those fights are of little significance as they were over a decade ago, and both men have vastly improved since, he told Seconds Out.
“It was very early on for both of us, so it is kind of hard to compare. Joshua, he was more of a big, strong guy, that’s what he had really, he was not the most technical at that time. Me, a kid coming from a small town in Sweden and travelling over here, it was good, we had a good fight, but you can’t really compare any of it today I don’t think.”
Joshua-Wallin is the co-main event alongside Deontay Wilder vs Joseph Parker for the event in Saudi Arabia on December 23, topping a bill which features a plethora of stars including Dmitry Bivol, Jai Opetaia, Filip Hrgovic and Daniel Dubois.