Swedish boxer, Otto Wallin has admitted that his British counterpart, Anthony Joshua is a tougher opponent than WBC champion Tyson Fury.
He stated this after his devastating loss to Joshua last December, which saw the 33-year-old drop out after just five rounds.
Wallin said in an interview with Boxing News; “I know that he is one of the best fighters out there. I really have no excuses, he was just better. He did really well, used his reach well, and he hit me with some really good shots.
He was just better. I think he had a good game plan. He felt like a very good fighter, and obviously, it was a much tougher fight than what I had with Tyson Fury. Maybe he’s found his home with Ben Davison.”
Wallin’s nose was dripping blood after round five, and his long-time coach, Joey Gamache, made the bold decision to pull his fighter out early. He didn’t dispute the call at the time, and he still feels his trainer did the right thing.
“I didn’t disagree (with the stoppage), Joey told me, ‘I’m going to stop it.’ And I didn’t say anything. I trust Joey, he is always looking out for me. I feel very happy that I have a trainer who puts my health first. There’s a life after boxing, so I’m really appreciative that he is looking out for me,” he said.
Meanwhile, Joshua’s promoter, Eddie Hearn, assured fans that the British-Nigerian’s next fight is still set for March in Saudi Arabia.
Some names being considered for the next fight in Saudi include unbeaten contender Filip Hrgovic, MMA veteran Francis Ngannou, and Chinese giant Zhilei Zhang.
“Right now, we have three fights that were in discussions for they’re all big,” Hearn told IFL TV. “And that doesn’t involve Deontay Wilder. Before March our aim, and we’ve discussed this, is to fight the winner of Fury versus Usyk. That is all we want to do.
“Obviously there’s a Hrgovic fight out there for the world heavyweight title; there’s a Francis Ngannou fight out there which would be absolutely colossal. There’s other heavyweights as well, the Zhang fight possibly as well with Queensbury,” Hearn said.
