By Charles Brun: Anthony Joshua’s win over the hapless Robert Helenius last Saturday night has brought out the long-lost arrogance that had been knocked out of him, and he’s saying he wants to smash Deontay Wilder next.
This is a classic example of false pride on Joshua’s part, with him acting like he really achieved something special by knocking out the 39-year-old Helenius, who may not have fully recovered from being put to sleep by Wilder last October in a brutal first round KO loss.
Joshua (26-3, 23 KOs)knocked out the 39-year-old Helenius (32-5, 21 KOs) with a right hand to the head in the seventh round last night at the O2 Arena in London.
Before that knockout, the fight looked pretty even for the most part, with little more than jabs being exchanged between the two large heavyweights.
Like in Joshua’s recent contest against Jermaine Franklin, he looked very timid against Helenius, afraid to throw power shots for fear he’d get clipped like he was against Andy Ruiz Jr and Wladimir Klitschko.
As such, instead of Joshua knocking out Helenius in the first round like Deontay had, it took him until the seventh round to do it.
Moreover, Joshua’s face looked in bad shape, with a bloody, swollen nose and heavy bruising under both eyes. This definitely wasn’t an easy fight for AJ against Helenius as it had been for Deontay, who made easy work of him.
“I’m just focused on smashing his head in now,” said Anthony Joshua at the post-fight press conference last Saturday night after knocking out Robert Helenius.
See what I mean about Joshua being smug. His victory over Helenius has completely gone to his head, making him think that he’s back to where he was 3,000+ yesterdays ago when he was on top of the world, knocking out obscure opposition and looking like 24k gold against his fodder opponents.
Hearn: Wilder’s going to sleep just like Helenius
“This is Anthony Joshua now. You’re not going to see a guy with his chin in the air, crossing his feet, taking chances against someone that
shouldn’t and can’t beat him,” Eddie Hearn told iFL TV why Joshua fought so cautiously against Helenius.
Obviously, Joshua can no longer afford to open up his offense full throttle like he’d always done a decade ago because:
1. He lacks the chin
2. Stamina is too poor
3. Lacking true self-belief
“So for everything he’s given, just let him do his thing now, and this is how it’s going to be. He can beat Deontay Wilder like that, in our opinion, but we know Wilder can punch.
“If he [Joshua] hits him on the chin with that right hand, he’s going to sleep just like Helenius, but tonight was about finding the right hand.
“Obviously, there was a lot on the line. Five days’ notice to fight Robert Helenius, it ain’t easy but knock out the year. So on we go.
“Obviously, they want to make the fight. We know what we got to do,” said Hearn about Prince Khalid of Saudi Arabia being there to watch Joshua’s fight against Helenius. “I believe they have a deal with Deontay Wilder. We’re close as well.
“We believe we can paper that over the next week or so, but AJ done his job tonight. A lot on the line, big risk, and now he wants that fight [Wilder].
“No disrespect to Helenius, but that’s why AJ chose Dillian Whyte because he can’t himself in the same way for Franklin, Helenius, and those guys, but it’s two solid wins now.
“He wants to roll the dice. There’s no better way to do that than the biggest fight in boxing,” said Heaarn about Joshua fighting Wilder next.
