Anthony Joshua destroyed Otto Wallin after five one-sided rounds of action in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia to crown a massive ‘Day of Reckoning’ card in style.
The British superstar (now 27-3) had been expected to have a tough night against a man who had taken Tyson Fury to the brink back in 2019. But instead it was a dominant performance from AJ as he announced that he is well and truly back at heavyweight boxing’s top table.
Latest Heavyweight Rankings: Check out our Top 10
Joshua, with new trainer Ben Davison heading up his corner for the first time, was in charge right from the start with great movement and crisp punches, and he had Wallin in serious trouble in the fifth, hurting the Swede badly. Wallin (now 26-2) was pulled out by his corner after the round ended to hand AJ the 27th victory of his professional career.
Now we wait to see what is next for Joshua – of course he was supposed to be meeting Deontay Wilder in a long-awaited superfight on March 9. But then a shock defeat for Wilder by Joseph Parker earlier on Saturday night appeared to leave that plan in tatters.
Joshua dominates Wallin
The first was a good start for Joshua as he was quickly on the front foot and controlling centre ring. His movement was sharp and he landed a nice right hand midway through the session to show Wallin he meant business. It was all positivity from the two-time world heavyweight champion.
Joshua continued that fine start in the second, again looking super sharp as he tagged Wallin regularly. A left hook and a straight right in particular caught the eye as the Swede paid the price every time he inched forward into range. So far it was all AJ and already the Wallin corner was emphasising the need for better head movement from their man.
The British superstar again held sway in Round 3 as he showed good movement and sharp punching, while Wallin struggled to get a foothold in the fight behind his southpaw jab. He did though land a nice counter midway through the round just to let AJ know he was still around.
Round 4 was even more one-sided as Joshua dished out more punishment to the Swede, with a body shot in particular midway through the session appearing to hurt Wallin. He spent the final minute of the round backing onto the ropes and battling for survival. It was one-way traffic so far.
Joshua came out for the fifth with bad intentions, really starting to let his hands go as Wallin tried manfully to avoid what was winging his way. He was hurt badly with a minute remaining by a right hand and then a crunching left hook which had the Swede in survival mode on wobbly legs and with blood cascading down his face.
Wallin did make it to the bell at the end of the fifth, but he would go no further as his corner called off the fight to hand Joshua a massively impressive victory.
