Helenius vs. Liakhovich on August 27th

By Jim Dower: Unbeaten heavyweight contender Robert Helenius (15-0, 10 KO’s) will be fighting former WBO heavyweight champion Sergei Liakhovich (25-3, 16 KO’s) on August 27th. The two were supposed to have fought next month in July but Helenius injured his hand while training and will need extra time to get get ready. The 6’6″ Helenius is quickly making a name for himself in the heavyweight division after stopping former WBC heavyweight champion Samuel Peter by a 9th round TKO in April.

Helenius looked powerful in that bout and did a great job of controlling the shorter Peter with his jab and left hook. Liakhovich, 35, hasn’t done a lot since losing his World Boxing Organization title to Shannon Briggs in 2006. Liakhovich lost to Nikolay Valuev in 2008, but has rebounded from that loss to beat Jeremy Bates and Evans Quinn. Going from those guys into a tough fight against Helenius is a risky proposition for Liakhovich because of how big Helenius is and how hard he hits.

Liakhovich has a great chin, but he has to show more aggression than he did in his loss to Valuev. If he can close the distance and let his hands go, he could give Helenius some problems. It’d doubtful, though. Helenius is on another level and looks to be on his way to an eventual title sot if he can get winning. Liakhovich hasn’t fought since last year in May when he beat Quinn by a 9th round TKO. There may be some ring rust evident for Likahovich against Helenius. He needs to take things slow and then really go after Helenius to avoid taking a lot of needless punishment.

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