Anthony Joshua will have a colorful opponent on Saturday in London.
Source: Profimedia
English boxer Anthony Joshua (33) enters the O2 Arena ring in London on Saturday evening, and his opponent will be Finnish Robert Helenius (39), who entered the fight as a replacement for Dillian White, who failed a doping test. After Joshua was defeated by the Mexican Andy Ruiz in June 2019, and then he lost twice to the Ukrainian Oleksandr Usyk, the former two-time world champion is aware that his future career could be put “at stake” with a defeat this weekend. “I can’t lose and yes, I’m under pressure. I hope it’s a good pressure, which will keep me focused on doing the job as soon as possible. I’m the one who has a lot to lose,” said the Briton on Friday.
The English media write that Joshua could lose tens of millions of dollars because of the offer to fight the American Deontay Wilder (37) in Saudi Arabia for the New Year, but even without that, the Briton has to justify his role as the favorite. The former Olympic champion, who defeated Wladimir Klitschko in a memorable fight at Wembley in 2017, has an opponent in front of him who, until a few days ago, did not even think about fighting Joshua.
Helenius said he had given up hunting, shooting and fishing on a holiday in Lapland, which he had promised his children after his easy victory in Finland last weekend. Of course, he announces that he will beat Joshua as well. “This victory will put me among the top heavyweights and millions will come with those big fights. I also know that I will be the biggest star in the sports history of Finland when I beat Joshua. Since the news broke on Sunday that I will replace Dilian in this fight, talked about on all the televisions, on the radio and on the front and back pages of the newspapers in my country. I think they would make me president if I wanted to. And I don’t, thank you very much. However, I think the public will now see me as bigger than Matti Nikenen (the greatest ski jumping champion) and Pavo Nurmi (legendary runner who won nine Olympic golds).
Source: Profimedia/James Fearn/PPAUK
Helenijus has been training since the age of five, he has won cadet and junior gold at the European Championships since the beginning of the century, and since 2006 he has been fighting in Germany, where he became a professional in 2008. It is interesting that in 2017 he fought against Dilian White and lasted 12 rounds in defeat against the Briton, and he entered that fight after only a week of preparation, as well as now against Joshua. Also, in October 2022, he fought WBC champion Deontay Wilder and lost by knockout in the first round in Brooklyn.
Although he was born in Stockholm, Sweden, and although he fought in several matches under the Swedish flag during the conflict with the Finnish Boxing Association, he still returned to his home country and will represent it this Saturday, in London.