Former world heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua proved too strong for Otto Wallin notching a technical knockout after five rounds of their non-title fight in Riyadh on Saturday.
The Briton’s controlled aggression saw him inflict the first inside the distance defeat of Wallin’s career, with the Swede’s corner pulling him out of action after the end of the fifth round of a one-sided contest.
Victory gave Joshua his third win from as many bouts in 2023 after he beat Jermaine Franklin Jr by unanimous decision in April before a seventh-round stoppage success against Robert Helenius in August.
It also took the 34-year-old Joshua’s professional record to 27 wins and three defeats.
“Just another fight,” Joshua told broadcaster DAZN. “I respect Otto. Not so much a throwback fight, just another day in the office. Victory by any means. Like Otto, you want to do whatever it takes to be victorious. That’s all I want to be.”
Joshua dominated right from the opening bell, with Wallin’s nose bloodied in the first round by the two-time former world heavyweight champion.
And Wallin, who once went the distance with WBC champion Tyson Fury, did well to get through the fifth round after being left on shaky legs by several powerful punches from Joshua.
His corner then compassionately decided to spare him further punishment.
Earlier on the same bill, Joseph Parker — once beaten in a title fight by Joshua — defeated former WBC heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder with a unanimous points decision win.
