Anthony Joshua says he’s laser-focused for Saturday night, predicting a knockout win over his former sparring partner Otto Wallin in their headliner on the ‘Day of Reckoning’ card in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Joshua is still mentally reeling from his three losses, seeming agitated and disturbed today while talking to the press about his fight this Saturday. The four days in a darkened room didn’t quiet Joshua’s mind because he seemed just as lost as he was before.
It would be better for the 34-year-old former two-time heavyweight champion Joshua (26-3, 23 KOs) to focus on just trying to win a decision because he’s gotten in trouble when going for the knockout.
“I want to go back and win my fight. Very difficult, very challenging,” said Anthony Joshua to iFL TV when asked how difficult Otto Wallin will be for him on Saturday night. “I’m staying focused. I’ll make it as tough as I want to make it or as easy as I want to make it if I stay focused.
“If I get caught up in the hype, it’ll be a difficult night. All this hype here will be a difficult night, but I’m very focused and locked in on what I need to do.
“When I hear it from you now, I’m fully focused on Wallin,” said Joshua when asked if it bothers him that Deontay Wilder is on the same card as him on Saturday. “That’s where my head is fully. It has to be that way.
“That’s why my spirit is solely focused on the fight. Even though I’m here with you, my mind is somewhere else. I need to start really locking in again if I’m going to become champ.
“It’s massive, bro. It’s history. This will be spoken about for years to come when the new generation is coming up. ‘Did you see what they did back in the day? It’s history,'” said Joshua about Saturday night’s ‘Day of Reckoning’ card, which has an unbelievable six heavyweight fights in the event.
“It’s great to be a part of it, and it’s great that Eddie [Hearn] and Frank [Warren] have come together and put on bigger fights than what will happen on Saturday night. I think there’s going to be a lot more to come from this region [Saudi Arabia] for sure. Yeah,” said Joshua when asked if he’s predicting a knockout of Otto Wallin on Saturday night.
