Anthony Joshua Fights Back for Top Position

Anthony Joshua will fight on the same bill as Deontay Wilder in Saudi Arabia on 23 December.

The Briton, who is looking to insert himself back into the world title picture in the heavyweight division, will face Sweden’s Otto Wallin in the Middle East.

Joshua, who beat Robert Helenius in his last bout in August, will fight after Wilder, who faces Joseph Parker on the undercard.

The date of 23 December was initially reserved for Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk’s undisputed heavyweight showdown, which has since been postponed following Fury’s lacklustre performance against Francis Ngannou last month.

Joshua has no doubts he can deliver the required performance as he looks to get back to the top table of the heavyweight division.

“I’m looking forward to delivering my message to Otto Wallin on December 23,” Joshua said at a press conference on Wednesday evening to announce the ‘Day Of Reckoning’ show, which is part of the Riyadh season.

“I can’t predict the future, but I know what I want to do. I believe I’m going to be a three-time heavyweight champion and the first step is to put a demolition job on Otto Wallin.

“It’s going to be big – we haven’t seen a card like this before. This is not a one-stop shop. This is a vision, this is my first stop and I will deliver the message. I’m determined to win and get back to my peak”, he said.

The promoter, Eddie Hearn, feels the clash with Wallin is not going to be a walk in the park for Joshua.

“This is a tough fight. We saw him against Fury, he’s a good southpaw and we have seen something different from AJ,” Hearn said.

“I think the best chapter is still to write for AJ. He changed the face of Saudi boxing and this is a challenge he wants to take. He wants to be heavyweight champion again and I think this will be a destructive performance from him.

“Wilder is a potentially massive fight to bring in 2024. This lines everything up for AJ and this lines up his whole career “, he said.