Heavyweight condender Adam ‘Babyface’ Kownacki will be looking to extend his undefeated record to 21-0 against Finnish counterpart Robert ‘Nordic Nightmare’ Helenius at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.
The Polish-born Brooklynite is a strong, relentless and rugged operator; something which was underlined in his most recent outing in August, against seasoned veteran Chris Arreola. Between them, the pair set the record for the highest amount of punches thrown in a heavyweight fight, and although the stubborn Arreola was competitive throughout, it was Kownacki who emerged unanimously victorious on the scorecards.
Helenius, meanwhile, was someone who was positioned for many years as a contender himself before suffering several setbacks in recent years. The Gargantuan Finn had produced some rather lacklustre displays en route to amassing a 23-0 record, including a highly questionable split-decision verdict in his favour over Dereck Chisora in 2011, before he was upset by Frenchman Johann Duhaupas in a WBC eliminator, several years later.
Since the loss to Duhaupas, Helenius was outslugged by Dillian Whyte in another abject display in October 2017, before being stopped again – somewhat expectedly – by former WBC title challenger Gerald Washington in eight rounds last summer.
Heavyweight prizefighting can often be compared to a game of ‘snakes and ladders’, owing to the big men’s capacity to often change their fortunes in any given fight – and by extension, their career prospects – with a single punch. Taking this into consideration, as well as the turbulent championship scene where belts have been frequently changing hands as of late, Helenius will be looking to leapfrog many of his rivals in the division, as he looks to work his way back into world title contention, with an unlikely victory over Kownacki.
However, it is important to note that in several of his contests against the likes of Gerald Washington and Artur Szplika, Kownacki has also demonstrated something of an explosive quality; pummelling opponents into submission with his powerful punching bolstered by his physical strength. Ultimately, despite his size and height advantage, it is unlikely that the lumbering Helenius will be able to impose his style on Kownacki, as opposed to the other way round, and so it is exceedingly likely to be Helenius who succumbs to Kownacki’s pressure and pace inside the distance as he suffers his fourth reverse as a professional.
On the undercard, heavy-handed Nigerian hopeful Efe Ajagba will be looking to make a statement against Romanian former WBO title challenger Razvan Cojanu, after the former’s see-saw slobberknocker with Iago Kiladze in his most recent outing. Cuban prospect Frank Sanchez similarly has the opportunity to impress with a clinical victory over the tricky spoiler Joey Dawejko, a former amateur teammate (and professional opponent) of Bryant Jennings – from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania – who has only been stopped once in his career.
Article by: Navi Singh
Follow Navi on Twitter at: @DarkMan________