Otto Wallin believes that Anthony Joshua did not want to fight him because he is a southpaw, and predicted he will beat Jermaine Franklin in April.
Wallin last fought in January against Helaman Olguin in a stay-busy fight, winning by unanimous decision, but having impressed previously against Tyson Fury, he is highly regarded.
The Swedish heavyweight is keen on higher profile fights, and with Joshua set for a comeback on April 1 live on DAZN when he fights Franklin, he believes he was ducked as too much of a risk due to his southpaw stance.
Wallin told CanadaSportsBetting: “I was hoping to fight Anthony Joshua. I would have loved to do that now.
“I think that they felt I'm a dangerous southpaw and too big of a risk compared to what he needs right now. So they went with Franklin. They probably feel like he's a little bit more orthodox, and a fighter that Anthony Joshua should beat and maybe knock out, but we'll see.
“I think they thought that I was too big of a risk for him and more than what he needs right now. He needs to gain some confidence and get a few wins.”
Wallin has previously seen a 2021 Dillian Whyte fight fall through. Whyte fought last year against Franklin, Joshua’s upcoming opponent, winning a tight victory.
He explained that he is keen to finally make that bout.
He added: “The number one on my list would probably be Dillian Whyte, outside of Fury and Usyk and Joshua and those guys, of course. But Dillian Whyte is somebody I really want to fight. We were supposed to fight in October 2021, when he pulled out ten days before the fight, unfortunately. But I would really love to fight him and I think that's a really good fight for me.”
“There are a lot of different guys out there. And if I can't get one of all the big names, maybe we take a step back and look at maybe Efe Ajagba, Demsey McKean, Derek Chisora or other people like that.”
“I will just keep going and I am hoping to land another big name or another significant fight soon.”