Malik Scott, head trainer for heavyweight contender Deontay Wilder, is a little nervous about Anthony Joshua’s upcoming fight with Otto Wallin.
On Saturday, Joshua will face Wallin in the headline bout of the big ‘Day of Reckoning’ card in Saudi Arabia. Wilder will see action in the co-feature, against Joseph Parker.
Should Joshua and Wilder win their respective bouts, they are slated to collide in the first quarter of 2024.
Scott would have preferred to see Joshua face someone like Jarrell Miller, who also appears on the undercard, in a bout with Daniel Dubois.
The former fighter turned trainer views Wallin as a very capable opponent who can spring an upset.
“The Joshua fight is closer than it’s ever been, but at the same time Anthony Joshua has got Otto Wallin. Wallin is one of the trickiest southpaws in the game, definitely in the top three, and they’ve chosen to fight him even though Usyk, another tricky southpaw, beat AJ two times. I would have probably preferred Jarrell Miller for AJ, but you have to give the edge to AJ going in against Wallin,” Scott said to Betway.
“Wallin has got the tools to make life difficult for anybody, but if I was a betting man I would bet on AJ getting the job done. But if he’s standing around and waiting, and he’s in his own head, he’s going to have an identity crisis right there in the ring and Wallin will walk away with the victory if any of that happens. AJ has to be liberated with his mindset. The more liberated he is then the more fun he’s having. But we haven’t seen that AJ in a while and that’s because of the pressure.
“If Anthony Joshua fights Otto Wallin in the same way that he fought Robert Helenius then Wallin’s going to win. If he had fought Deontay in the way that he fought Helenius, Anthony Joshua would have gone to sleep within three rounds. Based on AJ’s performance against Helenius, I don’t know even if he’d have beaten Dillian Whyte. A motivated and in-shape Whyte would have probably beaten Anthony Joshua that night. When he wants to be, Anthony Joshua is a powerhouse, he’s got speed and he puts his punches together in a way you very rarely see for a man his size. But I don’t know the last time I’ve seen that.”