RIYADH, Saudi Arabia — At Day of Reckoning in Riyadh on Saturday, Anthony Joshua forced Otto Wallin to retire after the fifth round of their bout. His victory in on Saturday night, made it three victories out of three in 2023.
Joshua, 34, easily won his 27th professional fight after stopping Robert Helenius in the seventh round in August after defeating Jermaine Franklin Jr. by unanimous decision in April.
Joshua(27-3, 24KOs) hurt Wallin(26-2, 14KOs) in the second round after launching himself off the starting blocks in Riyadh. Moving on to the third, Joshua from England hit another right, and Wallin’s repaired nose was leaking once more. After being taken off balance by a powerful left, Wallin, the former European champion, was forced to back up onto the ropes and sustained a cut to his right eye.
In the fourth round, Joshua, who had a steely appearance, repeatedly hit his opponent in the head and torso. Wallin’s face was skimmed by a right hand, and Joshua appeared relaxed and composed.
In the fifth, Wallin, 33, from Sweden was barely making an effort to counterpunch Joshua’s deadly, well-timed blows. Joshua stunned Wallin with a brilliant left hook with just a minute left in the round, sending him staggering toward the ropes where his coach stopped him from returning for another round.
“I can’t grade my performance. My performance team will judge me and the fans at home will have a lot to say, so I’ll leave it up to them,” said Joshua in media reports.
“Not a throwback fight, just another fight. It was just another day in the office. All I want to be is victorious for as long as I can,” he added.
Joshua’s victory was anticipated to set up a 2024 matchup with Wilder, who dropped the previous co-main event to Joseph Parker, who is currently in the running for the British title. Without criticizing Wilder, Joshua stated that their fight can still happen in the future.
“I could rip him for all the things he’s said about me but I’ll take the higher ground. He can come back, you saw Daniel Dubois tonight. I’m sure everyone still wants to see that fight,” added Joshua.
