Anthony Joshua may have been preparing to fight Dillian Whyte tomorrow afternoon (Sat., Aug. 12, 2023) live on DAZN from inside O2 Arena in London, England, but the British boxing star sure had an intense staredown with late replacement, Robert Helenius, on Friday.
Regardless of who Joshua is fighting it’s always a massive event when the heavyweight boxer competes on home soil. So even though his matchup with Whyte fell apart after a botched drug test fight fans were still eager to see Joshua fight. That’s when boxing promoter Eddie Hearn stepped up and delivered Helenius on short notice.
Helenius isn’t anything to write home about, but he’s a durable heavyweight veteran who has competed against the likes of Deontay Wilder, Gerald Washington, and the aforementioned Whyte. What’s odd about the pairing is the fact that they have little background with one another yet seemed very choppy during Friday’s official weigh ins.
Check it out in the above video player.
“Have you got a problem with me?” Joshua asked Helenius as they came face-to-face. “Either we’re gonna fight now or we’re gonna fight tomorrow, either way we’re gonna fight.”
Joshua, 33, is coming off a dominant decision win over Jermaine Franklin this past April. It was his first victory after dropping back-to-back losses to current WBA (Super), IBF, WBO, IBO, and The Ring heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk. If Joshua is able to make easy work of Helenius on Saturday as expected it should line him up for a massive showdown with Wilder in early 2024.