
via Imago
Anthony Joshua red shorts and Robert Helenius white/blue shorts during their International Heavyweight contest at the O2, London, England on the 12 August 2023. Copyright: xAlanxStanfordx PMI-5697-0004

via Imago
Anthony Joshua red shorts and Robert Helenius white/blue shorts during their International Heavyweight contest at the O2, London, England on the 12 August 2023. Copyright: xAlanxStanfordx PMI-5697-0004
On August 12, Dillian Whyte was scheduled to face Anthony Joshua for their anticipated rematch. However, just over a week ahead of the bout, Whyte failed his pre-fight drug test. Subsequently, the 35-year-old was pulled off the contest. Thereafter, Robert Helenius stepped up to the plate and agreed to fight Joshua on short notice.
In their contest, Joshua defeated Helenius via a seventh-round stoppage. After the bout, Joshua and his promoter, Eddie Hearn, expressed their interest to face Deontay Wilder next. Moreover, it appears Helenius has not yet moved on from his last defeat. In addition, he unveils the real reason behind agreeing to this fight. So without further ado, let’s dive in on his comments.
ADVERTISEMENT
Article continues below this ad
Robert Helenius on fighting Anthony Joshua on short notice
When the fight was first offered to Helenius, he was adamant about not stepping in on such short notice. However, after giving much thought, he changed his mind and decided to face Joshua. Moreover, in retrospect, Helenius feels with a training camp, he would have been well prepared for the fight.
In an Interview with Fight Hub. Tv, he stated, “What could I do with the short notice? I think I would have done better with a training camp.” He adds, “First I was like hell no. After that, I thought about it for 5-10 mins and after that I was like yea let’s do this. It is my opportunity to do this.”
ADVERTISEMENT
Article continues below this ad
In addition, he revealed that the reason behind accepting the fight was to see if he has the desire to train at this stage of his career. He added, “We didn’t train for 12 rounds of hard- core boxing. We had that fight to see if I have the motivation to see if I can keep on training. That was quite the feeling of the offer the fight was incredible and scary at the same time.”
It is safe to say that Helenius’ intention behind fighting Joshua was more than just to win. Although he was defeated, he fought valiantly for 7 rounds with the former heavyweight champion. Despite being 39 years old, he is hopeful about having multiple fights.
ADVERTISEMENT
Article continues below this ad
Robert Helenius on his career ahead
In the same interview, Helenius revealed his desire to compete a couple of more times. In addition, he reflected on his career and talked about his plans for retirement. He stated, “If I could choose myself, I would probably be around January. When I was 28, I thought that when I was 36, I would retire, and I’m still here.”
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT