---
title: "Otto Wallin Suggests Why Joshua Avoided Him And Makes AJ-Franklin Prediction"
canonical: "https://boxing-social.com/news/otto-wallin-on-joshua-fight-with-franklin/"
type: "post"
language: "en-GB"
author: "Tom Eaton"
section: "News"
published: "2023-02-08T13:32:17Z"
modified: "2023-02-08T13:32:17Z"
---

# Otto Wallin Suggests Why Joshua Avoided Him And Makes AJ-Franklin Prediction

Swedish heavyweight, Otto Wallin, was in talks to face Anthony Joshua before the Brit finally settled on Jermaine Franklin for his comeback fight.

[Wallin famously fought Tyson Fury, back in 2019](https://wp.boxing-social.com/news/fury-prevails-wallin/), and took him the distance in a bloody affair, with Fury subsequently requiring forty-seven stitches to a cut above his eye.

That night gave Wallin respect as a solid heavyweight but has still struggled to secure fights against the bigger names of the division. [Dillian Whyte was scheduled to fight the Swede in 2021 but pulled out at late notice due to a shoulder injury](https://wp.boxing-social.com/news/whyte-suffers-shoulder-injury-wallin-bout-off/).

In an interview with [iFL TV](https://youtu.be/if_m_ixjI3U) the 25-1 fighter spoke of why the Joshua opportunity also lead to nothing.

> “I am a southpaw, Joshua just came off of two losses against Usyk, who is a southpaw also. Not just that, I think people are aware of me, they know that I am not a bad fighter, I am a good fighter, I gave Fury everything that he could handle. It would be a tough fight for Joshua, it’s not an easy win or anything. I think they’re looking to have someone now to make Joshua look good on his comeback and probably get a knockout. It didn’t make sense for them to fight me right now, I am too much of a risk.
>
> Franklin gave Dillian Whyte all that he could handle, I feel like he \[Franklin\] won that fight, so now he gets a shot at Joshua. Anthony Joshua will be a clear favourite for me, to win by knockout, but we will see what Jermaine does, I think he is a fighter that has some skills and ability, so we will see what happens.”

[Joshua will face Franklin on April 1st at the O2 Arena in London](https://wp.boxing-social.com/news/terms-agreed-for-anthony-joshua-vs-franklin/) and will see the former two-time champion make his DAZN debut. Although the card will not be pay-per-view, a recent [price hike for the cost of DAZN subscriptions has caused some backlash](https://wp.boxing-social.com/news/dazn-uk-price-changes-revealed/).