Exclusive: Anthony Joshua's former rival Otto Wallin predicts Francis Ngannou fight, recalls being surprised by Tyson Fury bout
Former WBA continental heavyweight champion Otto Wallin recently discussed the upcoming Anthony Joshua vs. Francis Ngannou boxing match and shared his predictions for the fight.
Wallin last fought Joshua in the main event of the 'Day of Reckoning' card in Riyadh this past December. 'AJ' put on a spectacular performance and dominated Wallin for five rounds. At the end of the fifth round, the Swedish boxer's corner threw in the towel, and the fight ended with a TKO declared in favor of Joshua.
Soon after their fight, it was announced that the Englishman would go up against Ngannou in a ten-round bout on March 8 in Saudi Arabia. While 'AJ' is coming off a dominant victory, Ngannou last dropped a split decision in his boxing debut against reigning WBC heavyweight champion Tyson Fury last October.
In an exclusive interview with Sportskeeda MMA, Wallin spoke about the Joshua-Ngannou fight and shared his predictions. He said:
"We'll see. It's all about styles, and Ngannou is a strong guy, and he can punch too. He put Fury down, so Joshua has to be aware. I think it depends if Joshua comes out being aggressive like he was with me, he might knock him out. But Ngannou's a strong guy, so it's not going to be easy."
Catch Otto Wallin's comments below (4:50):
Otto Wallin on the Tyson Fury vs. Francis Ngannou boxing match
In the same interview, Otto Wallin shared his thoughts on the Tyson Fury vs. Francis Ngannou boxing match that went down last October. Wallin stated that he was surprised by the Cameroonian's boxing skills and praised him for holding his own against one of the greatest heavyweight pugilists of all time.
As mentioned above, the two heavyweight juggernauts went up against each other in the boxing ring on October 28 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Given Fury's resume, many predicted a tough night for the former UFC heavyweight champion. However, Ngannou surprisingly pushed Fury to his limits.
'The Predator' scored the fight's lone knockdown in the third round and dominated the Englishman in the eighth round. After the fight, 'The Gypsy King' appeared to have taken more damage. However, Fury ultimately won via split decision.
Speaking to Sportskeeda MMA about Ngannou's impressive showing against Fury, Wallin said:
"You got to really give some respect to Ngannou. I think he did a really good job having almost no boxing experience, and he had to go ten rounds with Fury; that's really a big accomplishment. I can't really believe that he did that, actually. I would've thought that he was going to get knocked out."
Catch Otto Wallin's comments below (3:53):