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Otto Wallin is still in contention to secure a fight with Anthony Joshua next.
Australian heavyweight Demsey McKean revealed to Sky Sports that he is in talks to fight the former heavyweight champion.
However, Wallin, the Swedish heavyweight who has only lost to Tyson Fury, insists that Joshua should box him next instead.
Joshua has suffered two consecutive defeats to Oleksandr Usyk, who now has the unified WBO, WBA and IBF world titles that AJ used to hold.
Wallin’s promoter Dmitry Salita maintains that Joshua must come back against a credible opponent.
“We will see how serious Joshua is about returning to an elite heavyweight level by the level of the opponent he selects. He can beat the likes of McKean in an impressive fashion training by himself,” Salita told Sky Sports.
“So a fight with such an opponent will not prove anything as an elite boxer and will not be able to see actual improvements from a new trainer.
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A heavyweight fight between Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury ‘has to happen’, according to head of Matchroom Barry Hearn.
“Joshua has been associated with lots of big names. Is it real? I don’t know. Not if he fights a no-name with a glossy record.”
Salita points to how Deontay Wilder came back from his third defeat to Tyson Fury. Wilder had a gruelling bout with Fury in 2021, then boxed Robert Helenius in his next fight and won with an impressive knockout last October.
“After Wilder lost to Fury he fought a bone fide, world-rated, legitimate top 10 heavyweight. And is now in play to fight the best, based on his improvement with his new trainer Malik Scott. I have a lot of respect for the work that Malik did with Wilder and he was confident to take on a serious fighter after that brutal loss,” Salita said.
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Tyson Fury revealed he bet Frank Warren £10,000 that Anthony Joshua would not sign the contract to face him.
Wallin is available to box Joshua in his comeback bout.
“Otto is willing and ready to come to the UK on April 1 to fight Anthony Joshua. That would be a massive fight!” his promoter declared.
“Otto is interested in fighting Joshua and that is the fight that seems to make sense especially if Fury fights Usyk in March. Otto believes he will beat Joshua and with that deserve the Fury rematch.
“Even if it’s not Otto, the level of opponent will tell us where Joshua is at now,” Salita concluded.
“Joshua is a very accomplished fighter and was one of the best heavyweights of this generation. As a fan if he’s still got it, I would love to see him fight the big fights.”
Chris Eubank Jr vs Liam Smith is on Saturday January 21, live on Sky Sports Box Office. Book it now if you are a Sky TV subscriber or a Non-Sky TV subscriber. Buy tickets here.
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