Wallin’s promoter has been contacted by Hearn (Picture: Getty)
Otto Wallin has confirmed talks have taken place for him to fight Anthony Joshua next.
Negotiations for Joshua to fight Tyson Fury in December fell through yet again after weeks of negotiations in September. Fury has since moved on and is now expected to fight Dereck Chisora on 3 December with the hunt on to find a new opponent for Joshua.
Following his rematch defeat to Oleksandr Usyk in August, the former champion outlined plans to return before the end of the year with Eddie Hearn telling Metro.co.uk in late August that a ‘top-15 ranked’ opponent was being sought.
Wallin has been named as a possible option with the Swede, who fought Tyson Fury in 2019, in the frame.
‘I would love that,’ Wallin told Pro Boxing Fans. ‘I know Joshua pretty well and he knows me. It would be a really good fight and I think that I have all the tools to beat him.
‘I haven’t heard anything right now but I know they have been working on it, Dmitry [Salita, Wallin’s promoter] has been in touch with Eddie Hearn. I haven’t got any updates but I am hoping to get that fight.’
Wallin was scheduled to fight Dillian Whyte last year only for the Brixton heavyweight to pull out of their contest after suffering a shoulder injury. The fight was not re-arranged with Whyte instead named mandatory challenger for Fury’s WBC title – suffering a knockout defeat to ‘The Gypsy King’ in April.
Whyte also looking for his next opponent (Picture: Getty)
Whyte is also hoping to return before the end of the year with Wallin also interested in settling that score.
‘He pulled out last minute saying he injured his shoulder, fought fury instead and got knocked out.’ Wallin said of Whyte. ‘I would love to fight Whyte but I don’t know how interested he is.
‘He has blocked me from Instagram, he seems like a funny character. But I would love to fight him, I think it is a perfect fight for me.’
17 December has been earmarked for Joshua’s return but Hearn explained this week that date could still be pushed back into the New Year.
‘Really now it’s up to AJ to see if he goes on December 17 or waits until January or February, the decision hasn’t been made yet.
‘There’s a bit of a blow not fighting Tyson Fury and it’s a bit of a comedown, so he’s got to weigh up whether he’s going to go December 17 or give himself a little bit of extra time, so that’s a decision he’ll make in the next week or so.’
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Joshua had been expected to return to the ring in December.