Swedish heavyweight Otto Wallin, best known for going the distance in a bloody fight with Tyson Fury, is ‘hopeful’ of securing a fight with Anthony Joshua in December, and confirmed that his agent Dmitry Salita has been in touch with Eddie Hearn.
The Swedish southpaw famously went twelve rounds with Tyson Fury and caused problems for ‘The Gypsy King’, despite being relatively unheard of before the fight. Wallin then got a chance to mix it with the big names once again, as he was set to fight Dillian Whyte last year, however Whyte pulled out due to an injury and Wallin was left without a fight.
In an interview with Pro Boxing Fans, Wallin said that Whyte has since blocked him on social media, but he went on to speak of his potential fight with Anthony Joshua in December.
“I would love that, I know [Anthony] Joshua pretty well and he knows me. That would be a really good fight I think and I think I have all the tools to beat him, so I would love that fight.
I haven’t heard anything right now but I know that they are working on it, Dmitry has been in touch with Eddie Hearn. I haven’t got any updates, but I am hoping to get that fight.”
The fight would make sense for both fighters. A stoppage win for Joshua would mean he did something that rival Fury could not, whilst promoter Eddie Hearn may feel like he owes Otto Wallin a scrap after what happened with Dillian Whyte. For Wallin, this is the chance to announce himself as a top heavyweight after struggling to secure fights amongst contenders within the top fifteen.
A fight with Wallin would also give ‘AJ’ experience against southpaws, having lost twice to a ‘lefty’ in Oleksandr Usyk. Joshua has previously stated that ‘southpaws are a nightmare’, so the chance to fight one of lesser experience – which is no insult, rather a testament to how good Usyk is – would be valuable experience.
