By: Sean Crose
“I would say he is still one of the best heavyweights out there,” Otto Wallin explains – courtesy of The Daily Mail – “and he’s made an amazing career for himself.” With that being stated, Wallin – who’s squaring off in opposition to former heavyweight titlist Joshua this weekend in Saudi Arabia – clearly feels the towering Londoner isn’t the fighter he as soon as was. “There has been a decline,” Wallin says of Joshua, “and I think he has reached his peak already.” If so, that’s nothing however excellent news for 33 12 months outdated longtime contender Wallin. “I think he is mentally fragile,” Wallin continues. “He’s not sure of himself. He cares a lot about what people think of him, and I think it’s hard for him when people are being critical or there are boos in the crowd.”
Sweden’s Wallin feels the second to strike is now. “I think it’s the perfect time to face AJ,” he says. “He was a seek-and-destroy kind of guy, very aggressive. Then, he lost to Ruiz, he got stopped. He lost to Usyk twice. He knows he can lose and get hurt, and he doesn’t like that. He doesn’t like getting hit.” Although he’s not often called a knockout artist himself, Wallin is an aggressive fighter, one who gave Tyson Fury all Fury may deal with when the 2 males threw down in 2019.
Joshua, nonetheless, seems keenly conscious how necessary this weekend’s struggle is for his profession. What’s extra, he proved how exhausting he can nonetheless hit when he knocked out Robert Helenius throughout his final struggle again in August. It’s simple to overlook that every one however three of Joshua’s wins have come throughout the distance. That’s 23 knockouts out of 26 victories. What’s extra Joshua has overwhelmed quite a few fighters of observe, from Wladimir Klitschko, to Dillian Whyte, to Joseph Parker. And that Andy Ruiz struggle Wallin brings up? Joshua received the rematch handily by altering ways. Only Usyk has been capable of dominate the person.
“He should be banking on his skills,” Joshua responds – by way of talkSPORT – to Wallin’s assertion that he’s turn into weak. As far as Joshua is worried, Wallin shouldn’t be specializing in his opponent’s psychological state. “He should be banking on the fact he’s worked hard, he trusts his skills and he thinks he’s good enough…he shouldn’t be banking on whether I’m mentally strong or not.” As Joshua sees it, Wallin is approaching issues the fallacious approach heading into Saturday’s struggle. “That’s crazy,” he says, “to go into a fight and hope that the fighter you’re fighting isn’t mentally strong and that gives you an opportunity to beat them.”
