Robert Helenius was flattened by Anthony Joshua in London after bravely stepping in as a last-minute replacement opponent.
‘AJ’s willingness to accept a late change – which hasn’t played out for him well in the past – and the spirit of Helenius to fight the two-time champion on just six days’ notice saved an otherwise doomed show.
It was a tentative main event for the first half, with Joshua mostly content behind a jab and his Finnish opponent not doing too much too often.
In the seventh, the Brit let his right hand go and ended the contest. In a translated transcript from Finnish publication, Yle Urheilu, Helenius said he doesn’t remember feeling it.
“That was a big bang. I don’t remember the impact, my fitness was running out at that point. Of course it hurts, the heart the most. I would have really liked to win this match. We’ll see what comes of this.”
Despite the conclusive finish, Helenius feels he was showing the beginnings of good work in the ring. Some of his shots had bloodied the nose of Joshua and produced slight swelling around his eye.
“I hit him well with left straights, and I noticed that he was a bit embarrassed by it. Should have just let the right one go. I hurt him many times and felt like I had the match in hand at one point.”
He believes he would have won had he not been on late notice.
“I still feel that if I had been given 12 weeks for that match, the end result would not have been like that. It would have been the other way around.”
I didn’t have the condition for 12 sets here. The better one won this time, that’s all … Even though I lost today, this left me with a good feeling. I will not comment on whether the career will continue.”
At 39-years-old and his last two losses being heavy stoppages, it’s unlikely Helenius continues for much longer on the heavyweight scene.
As for ‘AJ’, he moves another step closer to a potential fight with Deontay Wilder next January.