THE RESULT: Anthony Joshua dismantles Otto Wallin with a punch-perfect performance to signal the return to the peak of his powers. Some had predicted that Joshua, after two low-key wins in 2023, might have some trouble against the Swedish southpaw but he made a mockery of those suggestions with this complete and total beatdown which ended when Joey Gamache pulled his man out after five.
KEY MOMENTS: Joshua had been spearing his straight right hand viciously into the midriff at will but it was the attacks upstairs which were making a mess of Wallin’s face. And it was a right hand-left hook combination to the head which was the beginning of the end with a minute left of the fifth. He pieced Wallin up for the remainder of the round and the Swede’s corner decided to pull him out immediately afterwards.
RECORDS: Joshua moves to 27-3 with 24 quick while Wallin is now 26-2 (14).
TALKING POINT: On the night where it looked as if Deontay Wilder’s career might be over, this was a clear statement: Joshua is back. Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk will meet to decide who is the world’s premier heavyweight on February 17 but, when it looked as if his incredible career might be starting to wane, Joshua proved that he is still right up there. But how would he fare against Fury, and would he have any chance in a third clash with Usyk given these early signs of improvement under Ben Davison?
QUOTABLE: “I can’t grade my performance,” Joshua said. “Ben Davison, Lee Wylie, Barry and my performance team will judge that for me. My fans at home will have a lot to say as well – I’ll leave it up to them. It was not a throwback fight, just another fight. I respect Otto and throughout the whole build up I was telling everyone I had to focus on the job at hand. My approach was victory by any means. In this game it’s a treacherous business, it’s like snakes and ladders, one win gets you up the ladder, one loss takes you right back down. I wasn’t watching Wilder, I just focus on myself. I heard Deontay lost, so what, he will come back. It shows there are fine margins in this business.”
WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?: Joshua was asked whether his pre-agreed fight with Wilder was now dead, and he said: “No. Listen, look at Dubois this evening. He has come back. You can do anything. If he wants he can come back and fight another day. I’m sure everyone still wants to see that fight.”
What is more likely, however, is that Joshua fights Filip Hrgovic for the IBF title, which will become vacant after the first Fury-Usyk clash, and would represent an opportunity for Joshua to become a three-time heavyweight champion.
