Two-time former unified heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua's attempt to punch his way back to a world title fight continues on Saturday, though not in the fight he was expecting. Joshua will fight late-replacement Robert Helenius at London's O2 Arena.
Helenius is stepping in on less than one week's notice after Dillian Whyte failed a VADA pre-fight drug test. Not only is Helenius in on short notice, but he also is coming off a fight on Aug. 5, defeating Mika Mielonen by third-round TKO.
"A good thing here, is that the testing that we've paid for here -- above and beyond British Boxing Board of Control testing - has found that a fighter about to enter a bout has a performance enhancing drug in his system -- which is a good thing. We're all disappointed and gutted that the fight is not happening," Hearn said in an interview with IFL TV this week.
The win over Mielonen was Helenius' first fight since a crushing first-round knockout loss to Deontay Wilder in October 2022. The loss to Wilder halted the momentum Helenius built with a pair of wins over Adam Kownacki.
Joshua has been looking to rebuild after losing his WBA, WBO and IBF titles to Oleksandr Usyk and losing again in the rematch. He picked up a win in his first post-Usyk fight, defeating Jermaine Franklin by unanimous decision in a relatively dull affair that was met with a fair amount of criticism.
"There's two ends of it, though," Joshua said on the BBC 5 Live Boxing Podcast. "There's a big risk, 100%. And I could have waited it out. but if it went wrong -- let's just say we're strategizing our war strategy and we spoke about victory but we're on the subject of losing. This affects our chances of conquering more land. Why can't we still go to battle though? Why can't I still fight Wilder? It's too much emphasis [on win-loss records] …that's what I'm trying to say.
"There's too much emphasis on this winning and losing. Where it should just be, 'fight,' because you can always win. You only lose when you give up. You should always come back and fight another fight. That's just what it is. That's what I realized. Why am I waiting around for these people? Don't I believe in myself? If it was to go wrong…it's boxing, get up and go again."
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The goal for Joshua is to land back in big fights, such as a clash with fellow former champion Wilder or an all-England clash with WBC champion Tyson Fury.
To get those opportunities, Joshua can't afford any surprises, like his stunning 2019 upset loss to Andy Ruiz. He will need to handle Helenius and it would benefit him to do so impressively, especially considering the ease with which Wilder dispatched of Helenius this past year.
The undercard features distinct European flavor and another pair of heavyweights looking to enter the title picture. Filip Hrgovic is set to take on Demsey McKean in the co-main event. Hrgovic is unbeaten at 15-0 with 12 knockouts to his name. He's coming off the biggest win of his burgeoning career when he outpointed Zhilei Zhang last August. Plus, veterans Derek Chisora and Gerald Washington are set to scrap it out at heavyweight as well.
Joshua vs. Helenius fight card, odds
| Favorite | Underdog | Weight class |
|---|---|---|
| Anthony Joshua -1600 | Robert Helenius +900 | Heavyweight |
| Filip Hrgovic -800 | Demsey McKean +550 | Heavyweight |
| Derek Chisora -650 | Gerald Washington +475 | Heavyweight |
| Johnny Fisher -1600 | Harry Armstrong +900 | Heavyweight |
| Campbell Hatton | Tom Ansell | Super lightweight |
Viewing information
Date: Aug. 12 | Start time: 2 p.m. ET (main card)
Location: O2 Arena -- London
TV channel/Stream: DAZN
Prediction
There's not much doubt about who should win this fight. Joshua is, by all measures, a better fighter than Helenius. Helenius also is chinny, easily hit and fairly slow, even for a heavyweight. When on his game, Joshua can box circles around almost every heavyweight on the planet. The problem is, Joshua sometimes gets a bit ahead of himself and gets caught. It happened against Ruiz, which means it could happen against Helenius.
Still, this should be fairly easy work for Joshua. The bigger question is whether Joshua can look more impressive than he did against Franklin and increase the hype for a showdown with Wilder or Fury down the road. Pick: Anthony Joshua via TKO3
