Anthony Joshua‘s renewed confidence proves he is ready for his huge clash with Otto Wallin on December 23, Mail Sport’s Charlotte Daly has told The Hook.

The British heavyweight is taking on the Swede as part of the Saudi Arabian mega-show, The Day of Reckoning, hoping to continue his journey back to a world title fight.

Joshua suffered a pair of bruising defeats to Oleksandr Usyk in 2021 and 2022, the first of which stripped him of his belts. Before the second bout removed the aura he had built up as one of the premier boxers of the last decade.

Speaking on The Hook podcast, Joshua cut a calm and determined figure and offered up no excuses in his appraisal of his defeats to the Ukrainian.

Daly shared her belief that the 34-year-old’s manner revealed his returning confidence which she reckons will put him in good stead for Saturday’s showdown.

Mail Sport’s Charlotte Daly says Anthony Joshua looks a more confident figure than the one she has seen in the past few years

Joshua suffered a pair of bruising defeats against Oleksandr Usyk in 2021 and 2022

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The 34-year-old is preparing to take on Otto Wallin as part of The Day of Reckoning event

‘I feel like AJ’s whole demeanour yesterday proved how confident, focused and psychologically ready he is for the fight.’ She said. ‘He was willing to talk openly, he wasn’t joking around or brushing off questions, he was prepared to engage and very confident in himself, even the way he spoke about Usyk.

‘He just opened up and said “look, he was the better fighter on the night”, he was just ready to admit that Usyk was better.

‘The way he spoke about his training camp, the way he was interacting with people in the corridor, the way he was happy and chatting.

‘We had a good laugh before the interview started, he had a big smile on his face and it showed me that he was confident and in a good mindset.

‘Having been around him over the last couple years at press conferences and media events, I felt the shift with him yesterday. He feels and looks confident and it’s not surface level, it feels deeper than that.

‘It’s an exciting time for him where he’s focused on becoming a three-time world champion and if that confidence is how it felt, I’ve got no doubt that he can get there.’

Joshua made his return to the ring in an unconvincing unanimous decision victory against Jermaine Franklin in April. He then turned in a much more explosive performance against Robert Helenius, knocking out the Finn in the seventh-round.

Joshua is coming off a seventh round knockout victory over Robert Helenius in August

However, the British boxer is embarking on his biggest test yet up against Wallin, whose only professional loss came via points against Tyson Fury in 2019.

Part of the two-time world champion’s rehabilitation was spent in the solitude of a dark room. Four days, to be exact, were endured by Joshua as he sat alone with his thoughts.

‘Dare I say it’s given him clarity.’ Daly’s co-host Alex McCarthy added. ‘Usyk admittance is a good point but also he had clear ideas on the southpaw notion, of what he wants his legacy to be on what fuels him.

‘I felt the conviction in his words. Things looked like they were irritating him as recently as the last press conference so it seemed like a different AJ and the kind of AJ he needs to be.’