Anthony Joshua vs. Otto Wallin: Fight Odds, Live Stream, Predictions

Can Southpaw Wallin Give Joshua Trouble?

Anthony Joshua is obviously the more accomplished boxer and is the favorite for a reason. However, styles make fights and there are a few things that Wallin has going for him that make him a dangerous underdog.

For one, Wallin fights out of a southpaw stance. Joshua is seasoned enough to have seen that before, but Oleksandr Usyk was able to beat Joshua twice and his angles from the southpaw stance played a role in that.

There’s obviously a skill component to Joshua’s losses. Usyk is an unbeaten world champion whereas Wallin doesn’t have that kind of resume, but he really pushed Fury in the only loss of his career and left him with a bloodied face.

Wallin is a confident puncher and technical enough to make things interesting.

Can Joshua Set Up Fight Against Wilder?

When Anthony Joshua is on his game, he’s one of the best heavyweights in the world. But whether he’ll be at his best has become a question worth asking over the course of his career.

Joshua has gone through some crises of confidence throughout his career. A shocking knockout loss to Andy Ruiz Jr. started the ball rolling on a more hesitant Joshua. Then back-to-back losses against Usyk led to an uninspiring performance against Jermaine Franklin.

Joshua won, but it was closer than you’d expect and he never looked fully in control of the bout.

A seventh-round knockout against Robert Helenius put some of that behind him, but Wallin is a step up.

Now that Joshua is just one fight away from a huge payday and opportunity against Deontay Wilder, it’s fair to wonder if he has the confidence and focus to set that match up with a win over Wallin.

Joshua might come out of this one with the win, but it isn’t going to be easy.

Joshua has been a tough fighter to predict since his loss to Ruiz nearly five years ago. In that time he’s been through multiple trainers who have tried to instill confidence and help him come up with a clear vision for his style.

Joshua turned to Robert Garcia when he lost to Usyk the first time around. Then he went to Derrick James for bouts against Jermaine Franklin and Robert Helenius. For this fight he made yet another switch to Ben Davison. The trainer has worked with Tyson Fury and Billy Joe Saunders as well as Josh Taylor.

All of the trainers he has worked with are great, but the switching hints at a fighter who just isn’t sure what he wants to do or who he wants to be in the ring.

That could lead to a long night. In the end, Joshua is the more talented fighter, but Davison and Joshua might have their hands full in their first fight together.

He’s still the pick, but the recipe is there for a 12-round war.

Prediction: Joshua via decision