Otto Wallin entered to ”The winner takes it all” by Abba when he faced Anthony Joshua at the star-studded ”Day of Reckoning” event in Saudi Arabia.
The Briton was the heavy favorite and lived up to expectations.
Joshua, who had held three of the four major world championship titles, opened confidently and strongly. In the second round, he landed a hard blow to Wallin’s nose, causing him to start bleeding.
Stopped in the fifth round
Joshua had a big advantage and the Swede became increasingly battered. With just over a minute left of the fifth round, Joshua landed a hard hit that shook Wallin.
”That’s the best I’ve seen him in a while,” former professional boxer Anthony Fowler wrote on X about Joshua’s performance.
Wallin managed to stay on his feet and made it through the entire round – in vain. His trainer Joey Gamache chose to throw in the towel and stop the fight to protect the Swede before the sixth round.
”Otto is a true warrior, but his corner made the decision. Otto himself probably would have wanted to continue. But this was my day,” Joshua said in the post-fight interview with DAZN.
”Felt lost in the corner”
After Gamache threw in the towel, there were several critics of the decision.
”I think Otto must leave Gamache. He’s probably a good trainer but he’s not ready for this level or the spotlight. He felt lost in the corner and I didn’t see any drive,” DAZN commentator Paul Nilssen said.
It was Wallin’s second loss in his professional career. He had previously lost once to Tyson Fury.
