Image source, Matchroom

With the pyrotechnics going off all around him, here comes Anthony Joshua with a purposeful stride to the ring.

No 'Oh, Anthony Joshua' chants which were the soundtrack to those memorable nights at Wembley and the Principality Stadium a few years back.

Barry Jones
Former world champion on BBC Radio 5 Live

Wallin does look a little tense, but this is the biggest occasion of his career.

Britain's Anthony Joshua says he will not get caught up in the "glitz and glamour" of the heavyweight fight with Otto Wallin in Saudi Arabia.

Kal Sajad
BBC Sport at Kingdom Arena, Riyadh

Boxing media realise what a privileged position we’re in – witnessing live boxing featuring superstars of the sport, including two of the most explosive heavyweights of recent years.

But there is also a fair bit of anxiety on getting back home in time for Christmas Day. Some journalists have their suitcases in the media room, ready to dash straight to the airport.

The 33-year-old Otto Wallin, who took Tyson Fury the distance back in 2019 with victorious Fury needing 47 stitches to a horror cut, has been in confident mood all week, promising to deliver an upset against a man who he lost to twice as an amateur.

"I'm a smart fighter. I'm a southpaw," he said. "I trained for this moment for a very long time. I'm very much ready for it.

"There's going to be a new king and he's from Sweden.

Wallin believes Joshua is "mentally" fragile since his shock 2019 defeat by Andy Ruiz Jr in Diriyah.

"He's scared of losing, getting knocked out again, I think that's a big problem for him," added Wallin.

"Let's get this party started," screams Michael Buffer as Otto Wallin comes to the ring, to the sounds of Abba's 'The Winner Takes It All', well, he is Swedish.

Richie Woodhall
Former boxing world champion on BBC Radio 5 live

I am looking forward to AJ v Wallin. They have a bit of history between them, they boxed as amateurs and AJ had his number there, beat him twice as an amateur. But I've also seen some good sparring between them. It was competitive and it certainly wasn't one way for AJ. I think AJ has his number, but it is a decent fight.

Listen to more 5 Live Boxing podcasts from Saudi Arabia

Britain's former world heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua says he wants to "prove" himself against Otto Wallin in Saudi Arabia.

Kal Sajad
BBC Sport at Kingdom Arena, Riyadh

Anthony Joshua may just be the most scrutinised athlete in British sport. Well, he's up there, at least.

The public are quick to speculate on and analyse his mental state and demeanour. While only Joshua will truly know how confident he is heading into this fight, he's certainly had a bit of spite to him this fight week.

A fired-up Joshua exchanged words with Jarrell Miller in a hotel lobby on Monday. He gave one word answers and was visibly aggravated by Queensberry Promotions host Dev Dahni at Tuesday’s grand arrivals. He also kept his words to a minimum at Thursday’s news conference and Friday’s weigh-in, opting not really to engage in trash talk with Otto Wallin.

Behind the scenes, however, I have seen Joshua sharing plenty of jokes and laughs with his team and fellow fighters.

This is from August 2022 when Anthony Joshua broke down in his post-fight news conference after losing his heavyweight world title rematch with Oleksandr Usyk in Saudi Arabia.

Image source, Getty Images

"I had my little dip and I'm back on the gravy train."

Eighteen months have passed since Anthony Joshua choked back the tears to a room full of the world's boxing media in Saudi Arabia.

Britain's London 2012 Olympics golden boy had just suffered a second consecutive defeat by Oleksandr Usyk. Years of pressure and scrutiny had taken its toll and the then 32-year-old faced an uncertain road back to world-title contention.

There was no shortage of criticism. Some felt he was past his peak, less than a decade after turning professional. Speculation on his mental state was rife. There were even some rather premature and unjust suggestions the two-time champion should retire.

"Sometimes when you get knocked off your pedestal, people find it hard to get back up, let alone get back on course," Joshua tells BBC Sport.

But 'AJ' insists he is "back on course again". Having taken the rest of 2022 off, he beat Jermaine Franklin in an underwhelming yet composed points win in April and then produced a much-needed one-punch knockout victory over Robert Helenius four months later.

"I definitely questioned myself, I pulled myself back," adds the now 34-year-old. "What is my purpose? This is what I really want. Among the feelings that come and go, the one that stays with me is I want to be a competitor, I want to be a fighter."

What a night of boxing it has been so far, with Anthony Joshua v Otto Wallin still to come. What a rollercoaster it has been for Joshua over the past few years.

Just the one fight left as Anthony Joshua looks to beat Otto Wallin. How will that one go? I'll hand back to my colleague Michael Emons to guide you through that one.

Eddie Hearn, speaking to TNT Sports: "I said in the build-up I don't rate him. Wilder had no idea, no clue. He lost every round. He had his hand up telling the referees he won the fight. He's not right. That's the reality.

"It was the most one-sided heavyweight fight I've ever seen. It's ruined our plans. We've got to go let Anthony Joshua know Wilder lost to Parker.

"We must win this fight. And after that, I'm nervous."

All the talk tonight was that Deontay Wilder would face Anthony Joshua back in Saudi Arabia on 9 March, with the winner of that facing the winner of Tyson Fury v Oleksandr Usyk (which takes place on 17 February).

But Parker's superb win may have wrecked that one. So would Parker face Joshua?

Well, we've already seen that dance once before, back when Joshua was unbeaten in 2018. Joshua was the IBF, IBO and WBA world champion, with Parker holding the WBO title. It went the distance in Cardiff's Principality Stadium, with Joshua getting the verdict by 10 rounds according to one judge and by nine on the other two.

Parker is also a close friend of Fury and the New Zealander has repeatedly said he would never fight the Briton.

In January 2022, Parker said of Fury: “We have a great relationship, he treats me like a younger brother, his whole family looks after me.

“I’ve based myself here in Morecambe now. I’ve stayed in his house, I’m using his gym.

“I think I’ll never fight him. I’ll let him do his thing and fight everyone else. I’ll try to go another path and do my best to win the other belts if I can."

Image source, Getty Images

Deontay Wilder, speaking to DAZN: "My timing was up a little bit. Well done Joseph, he did a great job avoiding my punches. We move on to the next thing We aren't going to base it off that. We live to see another day and that is what it's all about. I just want to go home to my children."

On game plan: "I wanted to stay clam, throw a couple of jabs and set up the right hand. Timing was off a little bit. I did feel like I had the upper hand. Things happen."

Anthony Joshua distraction: "A little bit. It was a lot of talk about a lot of things. We make no excuses. We'll be back for sure. We have a little bit more left. I've done a great job with managing my money and investing. I'm a happy fighter. I'll be back soon and if not, it's been a pleasure."

Does he have same fire: "I don't know. I've found a lot of peace and happiness in my life. I've been wearing this smile all week long. I'm blessed. I gave it all I've got. You can't quit or give up, you must keep going."

Joseph Parker, speaking to DAZN: "I have a lot of respect for WIlder but we trained very hard for this. Everyone had other plans but this is God's plan."

Fight strategy: "I was really fit. I stayed calm, relaxed, stayed focussed. There's always things to work on but I got the win. Merry Christmas to us."

On Wilder: "Deontay has a new coach and he's waiting to apply the things they've worked on. It's a great finish to the year."

Avoiding Wilder right hand: "Lots of practise and work. He did catch me a few times on the guard and it's very hard. If it landed clean then it could be a different story. Working with Andy and George and not getting out of shape was important."

Importance of win: "This is massive and the best opponent I've ever faced. Tyson Fury gave us his time with sparring and was massively important."

Deontay Wilder accepts that all the talk of a potential fight between him and Anthony Joshua was "a little bit" of a distraction in the build up to this bout.

What will this defeat now do to plans for that potential match-up?

"I'm back!" shouts a delighted Joseph Parker as he upsets Deontay Wilder.

The American accepts his timing was off in that fight and that he had "no excuses".

It seemed obvious from how the fight unfolded and the judges' scorecards confirm it as they score it 118-111, 118-110 and 120-108 in Joseph Parker's favour.

He beats Deontay Wilder by unanimous decision.

Image source, BBC Sport