Joshua vs Wallin Predictions: AJ will need to go the distance for the win

Anthony Joshua comes face to face with Otto Wallin this Saturday as part of the big ‘Day of Reckoning’ pay-per-view in Saudi Arabia. While Deontay Wilder’s clash with Joseph Parker is being billed as the co-main event, ‘AJ’ has been confirmed as the card-closer on this blockbuster event.

But will the Olympic gold medalist be closing the show with a win? Despite the fact this card was envisioned as a way to hype the eventual Joshua-Wilder clash, ‘AJ’ has not been given a soft touch here. Wallin is 6’5 ½ and his rangy style uses every inch of that frame. The Swede is an awkward boxer who is tough to work out and even tougher to beat.

Only one man has the distinction of a Wallin win on their record; WBC heavyweight champion Tyson Fury. The pair met for Fury’s lineal title in 2019 and the match-up was one of the toughest in the career of ‘The Gypsy King’. Wallin opened a cut on Fury that required 47 stitches. ‘All In’ found Fury an eminently hittable target all night long until the Mancunian pulled away in the late rounds to win a deserved decision.

If you’re running Fury close then you’re no mug and Joshua will be acutely aware of the danger Wallin poses. The Joshua of 2023 is a more cautious proposition than the free-punching dynamo of old. Since 2019’s defeat to Andy Ruiz Jr, the former champion now approaches fights with a watching brief before unleashing the gameplan he feels he needs to employ.

This more cerebral ‘AJ’ has led to criticism. He was certainly slow out of the blocks when decisioning Jermaine Franklin back in April. While he did get the finish over Robert Helenius in the seventh round of their August bout, critics said Joshua spent too long playing with his food before devouring it. This in light of the fact Wilder had knocked out the same foe in a single round the year before.

The fact Joshua will likely have a look and act accordingly makes the 6/5 on an ‘AJ’ decision look attractive. Wallin has only lost once and is well versed in going the 12 round distance. But if you look at the fighters that have beaten Joshua, he doesn’t fit into those moulds. Ruiz took a bombs-away approach, beating ‘AJ’ with intelligent pressure. Oleksandr Usyk, who dealt ‘AJ’ two of his three defeats, is a Rubik’s Cube of movement, timing and defence.

Wallin will test Joshua and take him into the deep waters. But Fury showed Wallin can be hit and hit often. Joshua isn’t the stylist that Fury is, but he does pack one hell of a whack. If he has the confidence to let his hands go he should do enough to outpoint Otto and keep the flame alive for a Wilder fight.