By Scott Gilfoid: Former British heavyweight champion 37-year-old Michael Sprott (37-19, 17 KO’s) says he’ll be fighting Finland’s Robert Helenius (18-0, 11 KO’s) in late March for the European heavyweight title in Germany.
Speaking with Sky Ringside, Sprott said “There talking about me fighting Robert Helenius in Germany in March for the European title, the end of March.”
Helenius, 28, was out of action for 11 months due to a shoulder injury he suffered in a close 12 round decision win over Derek Chisora in December 2011. The 6’6” Helenius had surgery on his right shoulder and it took a long time to heal.
Helenius finally came back to the ring last month and struggled to defeat 5’11” journeyman Sherman Williams, winning by a 10 round unanimous decision but getting staggered in the fight from one of the few punches that the 40-year-old Williams was able to land against the much taller Helenius.
Going from Williams to Sprott is a slight move upwards for Helenius. He’ll have to take more punishment in this fight that’s for sure, but I think he can still win as long as Sprott doesn’t hit him with something too big. Helenius has a pretty good chin, so I think he’ll be alright.
Helenius seems to have lost a lot of power in his right hand shots. He was a real big puncher before the injury occurred, but against Sherman Williams, Helenius looked positively weak, and not strong enough to give him kinds of problem. Helenius’ left hand was unaffected, but he’s never been a huge puncher with his left, so it’s not as if he could fall back onto that arm to make up for what he’s now missing from his offense.
Unless Helenius is able to find his power again in his right hand I don’t see him going far in the heavyweight division now, and I wouldn’t be surprised in the least if Sprott beats him.
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