By Charles Brun: Anthony Joshua got bad with his replacement opponent Robert Helenius, punking him at the weigh-in during the face-off.
A nervous, shifty-eyed Joshua 25-3, 22 KOs) got bent out of shape from the way that Helenius (32-4, 21 KOs) was staring him down.
Joshua = food
Obviously, Helenius sees the faded old lion Joshua as food, his golden ticket to make millions, and to set himself & his family up for life, living in a mansion like a king. The money Helenius can make from knocking Joshua out will free him from worry.
Joshua finally realizes that Helenius isn’t playing around. This guy is coming to take his head off on Saturday night to enrich himself and finish what Andy Ruiz started four years ago.
Helenius can knock a person through a brick wall with his right hand, and he’s a much more dangerous guy than Joshua’s originally scheduled opponent, Dillian Whyte.
Eddie Hearn probably felt comfortable using Helenius due to his knockout loss last October against Deontay Wilder, but that punch that he was hit with by the Bronze Bomber would have done the same thing to AJ.
Weigh-in results:
Anthony Joshua – 250lbs
Robert Helenius – 249¼lbs
Anthony Joshua: “Have you got a problem with me? You’re looking at me like you’ve got a problem or something. You got a problem with me?”
“Seriously, is everything all right with you? You know, all this s**t here don’t matter. Either we’re going to fight now, or we fight tomorrow. Either way, we’re going to fight.
All this acting up here don’t really mean s**t to me unless you wanna fight me here and now.”
Robert Helenius: “I don’t have a problem. I am cool.”
Eddie Hearn: “It doesn’t matter how much you want to criticize the opponent’s choice. Robert Helenius is live, and what that means is he can fight, he can punch, and he can win, and he’s big,” said Hearn to the DAZN Boxing show.
Helenius can make millions
“Yes, there were options to take that quite frankly had no chance of winning this fight. You cannot sit there and say Robert Helenius does not have a chance of winning this fight. He absolutely does, and by the way, they [Team Helenius] think because people say, ‘AJ’s not the same; he’s chinny now.’
“He’s [Helenius] just they’re looking at it and going, ‘My God, we have got the opportunity of a lifetime. One shot, we knock this guy out, and we make millions.’ That is what they’re thinking.
“So when we selected this opponent, part of me was thinking that way. You know, I don’t like the fact that Helenius is 6’8,” he’s got long arms, he’s got a good jab, he can really crack with his right hand.”
All Weights:
Anthony Joshua 250 vs. Robert Helenius 249.4
Filip Hrgovic 243.1 vs. Demsey McKean 245.5
Derek Chisora 252.1 vs. Gerald Washington 237.9
Campbell Hatton 141.8 vs. Tom Ansell 141.9
Geroge Liddard 162.3 vs. Bas Oosterweghel 164.7
