Who is Otto Wallin? Anthony Joshua's opponent ahead of Day of Reckoning

One of the biggest nights in recent boxing history is upon us - the Day of Reckoning card on December 23 will feature high-profile fighters such as Deontay Wilder, Joseph Parker and Dimitri Bivol.

The main event will be contested between Anthony Joshua and Otto Wallin. In this article, we'll be taking a closer look at Joshua's opponent and how he has risen up through the ranks to get to this stage.

Otto Wallin - a background

Before turning professional in 2013 at the age of 22, Wallin had a respectable amateur career where he defeated future Olympian Frazer Clarke - he also took on Joshua during this time, meaning that their fight on December 23 will not be the first time they have shared a ring. In total, he accumulated an amateur record of 34-12.

Initially, his professional career was little to write home about, as he fought relatively unknown opponents in Denmark, Germany and his native Sweden. Perhaps his most notable bout during his early years was against Adrian Granat, who had beaten Mike Tyson conqueror Danny Williams prior to this.

Wallin vs Fury

On September 14, 2019, Wallin fought Tyson Fury, who was fresh off a controversial split decision draw with Deontay Wilder for the WBC Heavyweight Title. Many saw the bout as little more than a tune-up for the Gypsy King and expected him to breeze past Wallin - but the Swede had other ideas.

In the third round, Wallin landed a stiff left hand that opened up a massive cut above Fury's eyebrow. This sent Fury into a panic - he abandoned his gameplan and instead went toe-to-toe with Wallin, resulting in an entertaining brawl where the Swede held his own.

Fury's corner did an excellent job of maintaining the cut - had they failed to do this, the fight may have been stopped, which would have resulted in a TKO win for Wallin. Nevertheless, the Gypsy King held on and battered the Swede around the ring for much of the contest. Fury came away with the UD victory, but the majority of the praise went to Wallin for his plucky underdog performance.

Post-Fury fight

Since he fought Fury, Wallin has gone from strength to strength. In his first fight following this, he took on Travis Kauffman, winning by 5th round TKO, before squaring off with Olympic bronze medallist Dominic Breazeale.

Despite Breazeale's pedigree and considerable punching power, Wallin used his reach to keep the American on the end of his jab for the duration of the bout. Breazeale had no answer to this, giving Wallin a comfortable UD victory.

The Swede was then pencilled in to fight Dillian Whyte, but the bout was cancelled at short notice - much to Wallin's chagrin. As a result, he took on a trio of journeymen from 2022 to early 2023 - Rydell Booker, Kamil Sokolowski and Helamin Olguin - to stay busy.

His next big fight was against Russian powerhouse Murat Gassiev. Despite entering the fight as a slight underdog, Wallin's superior speed and size won the day - he kept out of Gassiev's range effectively and routinely punished his mistakes en route to another UD.

After this string of wins, Wallin was given the opportunity to fight Anthony Joshua. Can he use his awkward style to upset the former World Champion, or will Joshua's power prove to be too much?