Otto Wallin Backs Anthony Joshua as a Threat to Fury

By Raj Parmar - 02/15/2024 - Comments

Otto Wallin says he’s giving Anthony Joshua a shot at beating WBC heavyweight champion Tyson Fury if the two meet up.

It’s still too early to know if the former two-time champion Joshua (27-3, 24 KOs) and Fury (34-0-1, 24 KOs) will fight. Joshua must win his fight against Francis Ngannou next month on March 8th, and Fury has to defeat IBF/WBA/WBO champion Oleksandr Usyk in their rescheduled fight on May 18th.

“AJ’s Got the Tools”

“I always thought Fury was going to win that fight pretty easy, but now, after being in with Joshua, I know he’s very tough; he’s got a lot of power and speed also. He’s a good fighter, Joshua,” said Otto Wallin to iFL TV when asked who wins between Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury.

Joshua has the speed, power, mobility, and ring IQ to defeat Fury. The way AJ looked against Wallin was the prime 2013 version we saw of him when he first turned professional after capturing a gold medal in the 2012 Olympics.

“I’m having a hard time going against Fury, but I’m leaving the door open for Joshua, too. I think it would be a good fight and something we would want to see,” said Wallin.

Joshua’s Resurgence Impresses Wallin

“I always thought Joshua is a good style for Fury, but I changed my mind a little bit. I gave Joshua a better chance after I’d been in with him,” said Wallin.

Otto’s take on Joshua is different from how fans have viewed a clash between him and Fury. They’ve overwhelmingly seen Joshua as having too much offensive firepower for Fury, and the only thing that made some change their mind is the rough career patch AJ went through with his loss to Andy Ruiz.

“What surprised me is how he came out because in his last few fights, he hasn’t looked that confident, and it seemed that he was doubting himself, ” said Wallin on what surprised him about Joshua in their fight last December.

“He knew what he was doing, and he had a good game plan. They took advantage of that, and he did a good job,” said Walllin about Joshua.

The 6’6″ Swedish heavyweight Wallin (26-2, 14 KOs) gave Fury a serious run for his money in 2019, coming close to defeating him.

YouTube video