Anthony Joshua’s Future Plans?
At the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on Saturday, December 23, Anthony Joshua (27-3, 24 KOs) easily defeated Otto Wallin (26-2, 14 KOs) in the co-main event of “Day of Reckoning.”We picked AJ to win Big Fight Weekend over Wallin. Eddie Hearn praised AJ’s performance after his thrilling victory, saying, “He’s back.” With that, all eyes are now on the potential opponent for the British boxer.
With his right crosses, AJ maintained distance with his jab and soon established himself as the fight’s serious leader. It was a clever move that made sure he set the tone for the fight right away in the opening round.
Joshua used his jab to efficiently move between his head and body, preventing his Swedish opponent from gaining any momentum in the fight. Every time the British fighter delivered a punch, the crowd erupted in applause.
Particularly at the start of round five, when the Swede was obviously hurt by a cross-shot and a huge left hook, AJ was winning rounds with authority. Feeling that a halt was imminent, AJ launched a vicious assault. Wallin went to his corner at the end of the round, and his coach decided to end the bout. In response to a question regarding Joshua’s performance after the contest, Eddie Hearn said, “He’s back.” The team notified me that Ben Davison was back.
Under Ben Davison’s guidance, AJ outperformed Wallin, and it’s unclear if he will stick around for a possible world title matchup with Hrgović. The 1.98-meter fighter from Croatia makes good use of his size and advances, demonstrating to Zhang that he is capable of fighting from the back foot when necessary. Joshua will have to apply the same strategies he used against Wallin in order to trick his opponent by using his jab and quick hands.
“To be honest, we were supposed to announce Deontay Wilder in the ring for March,” Eddie Hearn said following the bout. Dan Rafael revealed this arrangement a few days prior, but it was conditional on neither party losing. The bout between AJ and Wilder seems to be further away than it has ever been, but if it happens, it would be hard to ignore Joshua’s commanding victory in light of both fighters’ impressive showings in Saudi Arabia.
