The 34-year-old made it three wins from three in 2023 after the fight was called off following a thunderous fifth round which left Wallin unable to continue.
Joshua, having already beaten Jermaine Franklin Jr by unanimous decision in April before sealing a seventh-round stoppage against Robert Helenius in August, cruised to a 27th professional career victory.
But the identity of his next opponent is unclear following Joseph Parker’s shock defeat of Deontay Wilder on the same card.
Joshua has recorded three career losses so far – beaten by Andy Ruiz in 2019 before Oleksandr Usyk defeated him twice – while the Swedish southpaw Wallin had only one career loss to date against Tyson Fury.
But Joshua came flying out of the blocks in Riyadh and inflicted damage on Wallin as early as the second round.
Joshua landed a left hook to Wallin’s head, followed by a thunderous right cross and a second quick right which left Wallin frazzled and with blood leaking from his right nostril.
On to the third and Wallin’s patched-up nose was pouring again as Joshua landed another right. A strong left knocked Wallin off balance, and the former European champion was backed up on to the ropes and now with a cut to his right eye.
A steely-looking Joshua showed no sign of easing up in the fourth round as he landed a number of head and body shots on his opponent. A right hand skimmed the face of Wallin with Joshua looking comfortable and in control.
In the fifth, Joshua was throwing menacing, calculated punches with Wallin offering little to nothing in attack. Then with just over one minute of the round remaining, Joshua unleashed a superb left hook to leave Wallin stumbling towards the ropes.
Wallin managed to stay on his feet and see out the round, but the Swede’s corner said their fighter was unable to continue as Joshua celebrated a destructive win.
Asked if this felt like this was a throwback fight, Joshua said: “Not a throwback fight, just another fight.
“I respect Otto and I was telling everyone in the build-up I need to focus on the man in front of me because of what he brings to the table. It was just another day in the office.”
“(My approach) was victory by any means. This is a treacherous business. It is like snakes and ladders, one win takes you up the ladder and a defeat takes you all the way down so I just want to be victorious for as long as I can. I am a gifted fighter who has a special gift and I am just searching for greatness.”
Reflecting on Wilder’s defeat, Joshua added: “I wasn’t watching. I focus on myself. I know how important this fight is for me. I heard Deontay lost but so what, he will come back. It shows this business is fine margins.”
“Deontay, everything he has said about me, I could rip him apart right now, but I am going to take the higher ground and I hope he comes back.”
When it was suggested to him that his much-anticipated fight against Wilder could now be off the table, Joshua replied: “No. If he wants, he can come back and fight another day. It is up to him and I am sure everybody still wants to see that fight.”
Wilder, who has claimed 42 of his 43 victories by knockout, was the overwhelming favourite to beat Parker, but the New Zealander ripped up the script with a crushing victory.
Parker dominated Wilder, heavily regarded as one of the biggest punches the heavyweight division has ever seen, with a perfectly executed gameplan that left his American opponent bamboozled.
Parker was comfortably ahead on the scorecard heading into the eighth round where he delivered an overhand right and then a flurry of destructive punches as Wilder clung on.
Wilder was hurt and Parker went for the finish, but the Bronze Bomber, who last fought in October 2022 – a first-round knockout win over Robert Helenius – survived the round.
Parker landed another big left hand in the ninth, with Wilder looking increasingly vulnerable.
Parker remained composed in the 10th and 11th before a desperate Wilder came out swinging in the final round looking for the knockout blow required.
But Parker never looked in danger of losing against the former WBC champion as he sealed a huge upset, with the judges scoring the most one-sided of bouts, 118-111, 118-110, 120-108 in the 31-year-old’s favour.
P A Media/dpa/NAN
Quadri first defeated Salifou Abdel-Kaden of Benin 3-0 in Group 2, securing his spot in the knockout stage with a dominant performance.
In the Round of 16, Quadri continued his strong form, defeating Mohamed Khaloufi of Tunisia 4-0. His clinical performance helped him progress further in the tournament.
Next, Quadri will face Oba Oba Kizito of Côte d’Ivoire in the quarterfinals. The match will take place on Thursday at the Palais des Sports d’el Menzah. (NAN)
Haaland had missed City’s Champions League play-off second leg exit against Real Madrid and the Premier League defeat to Liverpool with a knee injury suffered against Newcastle on February 15.
The Norway star marked his return with the first half winner in north London as City climbed one point above Chelsea, who had gone fourth after their win over Southampton on Tuesday.
It was Haaland’s 28th goal in all competitions this season, with 10 of those coming in his last 11 games to silence the critics after a barren spell earlier this season.
After four defeats in their last six games in all competitions, this was a much-needed victory for City, who started strongly but rode their luck as Tottenham missed a series of second half chances.
Pep Guardiola’s side are still a million miles away from the team that powered to four successive league titles prior to this season.
But Guardiola will take encouragement from the way they ground out a gritty success at a time when so little is going right for them.
Tottenham’s run of two consecutive wins came to an end, maintaining the inconsistency that has hampered them for a much of a turbulent campaign.
Ange Postecoglou’s team are languishing in 13th place, with next week’s Europa League last 16 first leg against AZ Alkmaar the club’s sole focus to salvage the season.
Second youngest line-up
Haaland shot straight at Tottenham keeper Guglielmo Vicario in the opening minutes as City made a vibrant start.
He wasn’t to be denied for long as City took the lead in the 12th minute.
Jeremy Doku’s surge into the area opened up the Tottenham defence, with the Belgian’s cross put on a plate for the unmarked City striker to finish from six yards.
Doku threatened to double City’s advantage as he cut inside for a low strike that forced a good stop from Vicario.
Ravaged by injuries, Tottenham named their second youngest ever starting line-up in a Premier League match at an average age of 23 years 243 days.
Postecoglou’s youngsters found it impossible to stop City finding holes in their defence time and again.
Doku picked out Savinho five yards from goal but the Brazilian’s scuffed shot flew over when it seemed impossible to miss.
Haaland wasted a golden opportunity with a close-range strike that Vicario saved with his legs.
Tottenham nearly snatched an equaliser against the run of play just before half-time as Kevin Danso’s header was tipped over by Ederson.
City were exposed again early in the second half as Brennan Johnson’s teasing cross reached Wilson Odobert at the far post, but the forward poked wide from four yards.
Ederson had to scramble across goal to palm away Odobert’s deflected effort before it could loop into the net.
City had lost their way and Tottenham should have been level when Destiny Udogie found Mathys Tel in space, only for the teenager to shoot wastefully wide.
Postecoglou sent on Son Heung-min in the closing stages, but Ederson made a superb save to deny the South Korean before Pape Sarr headed over at the death as City held on.
AFP
The experienced tactician spoke during the pre-match press conference ahead of the club’s Sunday clash with Empoli.
Lookman, who scored 36 seconds after coming on as his team were losing 3-0 at home, failed to convert a penalty kick on 61 minutes. This attracted the ire of Gasperini who described the winger as “one of the worst penalty-takers” he has ever seen.
Lookman, who returned from injury to add more firepower to Atalanta’s attack in the UCL knockout playoff round the team eventually lost 3-1 to Club Brugge, fired back at his coach.
The 28-year-old said Gasperini’s words were “deeply disrespectful”.
The club hierarchy also weighed in afterward, and a meeting of both camps was reportedly called to clear the air.
At the press conference on Saturday, Gasperini said he did not mean to offend the former Charlton youngster.
The 66-year-old also said Lookman had an “extraordinary impact” and further revealed that he expected the free-scoring attacker to add penalty goals to his arsenal.
“The player [Lookman] felt offended, but I did not mean to offend anyone. Lookman came on in an extraordinary way against Brugge, his gesture, even if generous, doesn’t change what my idea is,” he said,
“I would have liked a strong player like him to have made a gesture towards De Ketelaere [the club’s assigned penalty taker] saying “come on, keep the ball, put it in.
“He can become a penalty taker, it would be an additional scoring ability.”
Gasperini, who has been the coach of Atalanta since 2016, added that he might quit the club at the end of the season or leave when his contract with the Bergamo club ends next year.
It is unclear if the Lookman incident weighed in on the Palermo legend’s decision.
“I don’t have much time left to do this; maybe this is the last chance. As has been said, there’s a beginning and an end,” he said.
“At the end of the year, we’ll see whether to let the contract run out or stop earlier, but there definitely won’t be any continuity. There will be no further renewals or extensions.”
