Robert Helenius Says Sparring Anthony Joshua Gave Him Confidence To Fight Whyte
Robert Helenius will get the chance of a lifetime when he steps into the ring against Dillian Whyte on October 28th.
‘The Nordic Nightmare’ will be the only fighter representing his native country of Finland on the Joshua-Pulev undercard in Cardiff.
Needless to say, Helenius is more than excited about this opportunity to face a big name like Whyte and fight for the vacant WBC Silver Heavyweight title.
“It’s a really big and an important fight for me in every way. This fight will show me the direction where my career is going. I’m going there to win,” said Helenius to a Finnish news channel MTV 3.
Helenius originally declined a couple of offers from Matchroom but eventually accepted the fight against Whyte. One of the biggest reasons behind the decision was the sparring against the heavyweight champion.
The 33-year-old Finn sparred against Anthony Joshua earlier this year and helped the world champion to get ready against Kubrat Pulev. Apparently, the 6’6 tall Helenius did well enough against ‘AJ’ which turned out to be a massive confidence booster.
“It gave me a lot of confidence and showed me that I’m on the right track. It was the deciding factor,” he explained.
Helenius is used to fighting in front of audiences of 14 000 people on home soil in Finland. On October 28th, he most certainly won’t be the crowd favourite.
“I’m nervous but in a good way… to fight in front of a crowd that big and all 70 000 of them support Whyte. A different scenario for me most definitely but it’s great to be apart of such a massive event,” summarised Helenius.
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