ANTHONY Joshua secured his third straight victory tonight by earning a technical knockout win over Otto Wallin in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on the same ‘Day of Reckoning’ fight bill that saw Deontay Wilder outclassed by Joseph Parker.
Nigerian-Briton Joshua displayed an impressive performance to beat the Swede inside the distance but Wilder’s shock points loss to Parker could hamper plans for the long-awaited heavyweight showdown between the former world champions.
Joshua, who twice held the World Boxing Association, International Boxing Federation and World Boxing Organisation heavyweight belts, dominated Wallin before the Swede’s corner threw in the towel at the end of the fifth round.
Earlier in the night, 38-year-old American Wilder, who once held the World Boxing Council heavyweight title, appeared a shadow of himself, and looked to be seriously hurt in the eighth round as New Zealander Parker was awarded a unanimous decision.
Parker, also a former world champion, was awarded a unanimous decision with the judges scoring it 118-111, 118-110 and 120-108 in his favour.
Saudi organisers were already planning the Joshua vs Wilder bout for 2024. While no contract had been signed, the pair were expected to enter the ring post-fight and announce a deal to fight early next year.
Wilder admitted all the talk of a fight at least five years in the making had been ‘a distraction’, while Joshua appeared to be motivated against Wallin.
After the fight, promoter Eddie Hearn said Joshua is most likely going to face Croatia’s Filip Hrgovic for a vacant IBF world title, in the 34-year-old’s bid to become a three-time world champion.
Since losing his world titles twice to Oleksandr Usyk, the second time in August 2022, Joshua has beaten Jermaine Franklin via unanimous decision, Robert Helenius by knockout and now Wallin, improving his professional record to 27 wins (24 by knockout) and three losses in his 30 fights.
