Heavyweight contender Otto Wallin is hoping to become the frontrunner opponent for Anthony Joshua's planned return in early 2023.

Joshua will be looking to bounce back after suffering back to back decision losses to current unified heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk.

He was negotiating a possible year-end showdown with WBC world champion Tyson Fury, but they were unable to finalize an agreement.

Several names have been mentioned for Joshua, with Dillian Whyte tabbed as the frontrunner. Joshua previously knocked Whyte out in seven rounds in 2015.

Wallin gave Fury one of his toughest fights back in 2019. Fury was forced to overcome two severe cuts to win a twelve round unanimous decision. 

“I think it’s positive that my name is being mentioned but I would like to be the frontrunner,” Wallin told Express Sport via Rekatochklart. “I think Whyte is a good style for Joshua, he knocked him out last time, I don’t think much has changed.

“A guy like Usyk is a terrible style for him because Joshua struggles with good boxers and I’m a good boxer and I’m a southpaw so I think I can give Joshua a better fight. I’ve proved myself with Fury, I gave him a really tough fight and he handled Whyte much easier than me.

“Judging from that I think I’m a much better fight for Joshua and we fought twice in the amateurs, I lost close decisions in fights that could have gone either way and we’ve sparred before, so we know each other pretty well.

“He knows that I’m a good fighter and I know that he’s a good fighter. I think that fight makes a lot of sense especially given that I have a good following in England thanks to the Fury fight and the problems I gave him. So, I think people would respect that fight.”