By Geoffrey Ciani: Here we are in mid-August 2023, and frankly, there has not been a whole lot of action among top heavyweights this year.
Indeed there has not been a single heavyweight championship bout all year to date. The first (and perhaps only) heavyweight championship fight of the year is scheduled for August 26th, when Oleksandr Usyk puts his unified IBF/WBA/WBO heavyweight championship on the line against WBA #1 mandatory contender Daniel Dubois.
Making matters worse, the only truly significant heavyweight fight all year happened back in April when Big Bang Zhang defeated Joe Joyce back in April, and those two are scheduled to have a rematch next month in September. Meanwhile, former champion Andy Ruiz Jr has not had a fight since last September when he defeated Luis Ortiz by 12 round unanimous decision. And former champion Deontay Wilder has not had a fight since last October when he stopped Robert Helenius in round 1.
On the other hand, Anthony Joshua has fought twice this year. In April he won a 12 round unanimous decision against Jermaine Franklin, and this past weekend Joshua stopped the aforementioned Helenius in round 7.
That is 2 wins in a row for AJ, following ego deflating back to back losses against Usyk in 2021 and 2022. After losing his rematch with Usyk, AJ teamed up with new trainer Derrick James, and they are working to fine-tune his style. Joshua was originally scheduled to have a rematch against Derek Chisora, but after Chisora reportedly tested positive for a banned substance, Helenius stepped in on short notice. That in itself was an unusual situation, because Helenius had fought just a week earlier where he won a fight inside a medieval castle in Finland.
There have been rumors swirling around all year that Joshua and Wilder would finally have a long overdue showdown that should have happened back when the two reigned as undefeated heavyweight champions. Even though it did not happen when it mattered most, it is still easily one of the most significant and interesting match-ups that can be made in all of heavyweight boxing. The fact that AJ’s late replacement opponent just so happened to be the same man Wilder stopped in his last fight 10 months ago – the inevitable comparisons of how Wilder and AJ respectively fared against Helenius were inherently built into the prospects of the overdue clash of former champions.
But does the Robert Helenius “Factor” have any real meaning in how a Joshua vs Wilder fight might play out?
This edition of Rummy’s Corner will provide thoughts on a potential heavyweight showdown between Anthony Joshua and Deontay Wilder, following AJ’s recent 7th round knockout victory against Robert Helenius. This is Rummy’s Corner (produced and narrated by Geoffrey Ciani).