"I'm the best option for sure" - Otto Wallin believes he's deserving of Anthony Joshua matchup
Otto Wallin isn't giving up on securing a fight with Anthony Joshua.
'AJ' is currently without an opponent for his next bout. The two-time heavyweight champion was expected to face Oleksandr Usyk in a rematch of their September 2021 thriller. 'The Cat' defeated Joshua via unanimous decision to win heavyweight gold.
Following the bout, Joshua activated his rematch clause for a second fight. The sequel has been put on hold due to Usyk enlisting in the Ukrainian military to fight the invading Russia. As a result, the Brit has been called out by many heavyweight contenders.
One such contender is Otto Wallin. The Swede believes that he should be next for a date with Joshua, and discussed the bout with BoxingScene.com. Wallin said:
“Maybe they owe me something, maybe they don’t. But I feel like I’m really deserving of this fight [with Joshua]. And I’m the best option for sure. That’s bigger than anything to me...There’s not that many southpaws out there and I’m the most similar to Usyk. So, that’s a no-brainer to me.”
Wallin's comments about being owed a fight are likely stemming from his canceled Dillian Whyte bout in 2021. Both 'The Body Snatcher' and Joshua are managed by Eddie Hearn. Following Whyte withdrawing from his fight with Wallin due to injury, he immediately began gunning for a bout with Tyson Fury.
Anthony Joshua has shot down a fight with Otto Wallin
As of now, Otto Wallin is unlikely to secure a fight with Anthony Joshua.
While rumors started swelling of a possible fight between the two on Twitter, 'AJ' immediately decided to squash talk of the matchup. Joshua talked down the possibility of the two fighting, mainly due to their experience fighting in the amateur scene where the Brit came out on top.
Lol ok … I’ve shared this ring with most people you see in the heavyweight division today! I boxed Otto wallin twice as youngsters & I boxed joe and stopped him in 1 round. I’d do the same thing today! Ain’t nothing changed. twitter.com/IntuBoxing/sta…
Instead of fighting young contenders such as Wallin and Joe Joyce, Joshua seemingly wants to fight former champions or established names instead. The fighter that 'AJ' apparently wants the most is Deontay Wilder.
Eddie Hearn spoke about who Joshua wants next in an interview with iFL TV, and noted that the former champion has no fear. He said:
"If you said to 'AJ' right now, 'Who's your top choice?', he'd probably go for Deontay Wilder. It's not an interim fight, it could be a bigger fight than Oleksandr Usyk. Everyone's just going to think I'm championing 'AJ', but this guy has proved time and time again, he has no fear of fighting these people."