Anthony Joshua (27-3, 24 KOs) stopped Otto Wallin (26-2, 14 KOs) at the end of the fifth round in a fight that looked like a glimpse of the old Joshua. Joshua earned a fifth-round TKO victory but, more importantly, regained the momentum that he once had.
In the first round, Wallin used his right jab to come in, while Joshua used his left jab to dictate the pace. There wasn’t much happening, but Wallin was in control. Wallin pushed Joshua back in the second round with his straight left hand. Joshua was also landing his big right hand, but Wallin didn’t seem affected by it.
It was the start of the third round when Joshua began to apply pressure and land more punches on Wallin’s right eye, which caused it to swell. A cut underneath Wallin’s right eye started to bleed a bit, and Joshua was in full control. Joshua landed some big right hands in the fourth round, and Wallin wasn’t answering back.
In the fifth round, Joshua nearly decapitated Wallin with a left hook. Joshua tried to finish Wallin but ran out of time when the bell sounded, signifying the end of the round. Wallin sat on his stool, and his corner felt that he could not continue, so the fight was waived off.
After the fight, Eddie Hearn said, “He’s back” when asked what he thought about Joshua’s performance. The conversation between Hearn and Chris Mannix quickly turned from the Wilder fight to one with Filip Hrgovic for the IBF title. It’ll be interesting to see how this plays out come next year.
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