Anthony Joshua faces Robert Helenius in the main event at The O2 Arena in London, England on Saturday, August 12. Ahead of their 12-round showdown, British former two-time unified WBA, WBO and IBF heavyweight champion and Finnish heavyweight contender hosted a press conference, previewed their bout and went face to face. Boxing fans worldwide can watch the fight live stream on DAZN.
Joshua was initially scheduled to face Dillian Whyte live on pay-per-view. Helenius took the fight on a short notice, replacing Jamaica-born contender after a failed drug test.
“It’s a night of Heavy Duty action at The O2 in London, with Anthony Joshua now facing ‘The Nordic Nightmare’, 6ft 9in Robert Helenius as ‘AJ’ looks to move on to some of the biggest fights in the division, and the undercard is stacked with some of the biggest, baddest and best Heavyweights in the world, along with some of our youngest talent,” said Eddie Hearn, Matchroom Sport Chairman. “We know the issues of the last few days and it’s never easy to think on your feet and adapt, but the instruction from Anthony Joshua was clear, ‘I’m ready to fight and I want to fight on Saturday.’”
“We have to thank our broadcast partner DAZN. The great news for subscribers that this is no longer pay-per-view – unbelievable value for fight fans to be able to watch ‘AJ’ in a big fight with a great undercard, so thank you to them for their support as we have not only ‘AJ’ that wanted to fight on Saturday, but all these undercard fighters that have had long training camps too, and as we all know, you only get paid when you fight.”
“It’s been a challenging few days and I want to thank ‘AJ’, who stayed focused after putting 12 weeks of hard work into his camp and was desperate to fight on Saturday night and showcase the hardwork that took place, and Robert Helenius, who accepted the challenge and has a good team of people around him we knew wouldn’t mess around, and we knew he was fit and had just boxed. This is an important fight at The O2.”
Anthony Joshua: It would be silly to underestimate him, or anyone
Anthony Joshua (25-3, 22 KOs) last fought in April when he scores a unanimous decision against Jermaine Franklin. With the victory, the 33-year-old of Watford, Hertfordshire got back to winning ways after suffering back to back defeats against reigning champion Oleksandr Usyk.
“I looked at the undercard and I know how important it is for them to compete. I know how hard you (Eddie Hearn) worked, and all the Matchroom staff, my coach, DAZN, so it’s a responsibility I have. Late replacements aren’t ideal but it’s the third time it’s happened. A long career will present these types of obstacles and I’ve just got to get used to them, it’s just another rock in my shoe to the top of the mountain.”
“The principles remain the same, worry about myself. Robert and I sparred years ago, we shared the ring, but I’ve sparred with so may styles, competed with som many styles, the objective remains the same – victory, and victory by any means. There’s no overtime in boxing so I have to be on my A-game and inflict pain to get the victory.”
“Coming off the back of Covid, everyone suffered during that period. The sport industry slowed down and now we just want to get some momentum going again. As Derrick [James, trainer of AJ] said, I came out to camp early this year, I took a couple of weeks, maybe a month back in the UK then went to Dallas, to try to progress on. So, my goal was to fight as many times as possible, like Robert, he fought on Saturday, you have to stay active, keep expressing your skill as that’s the only way to improve. I fought in April, but I’ve spent a lot of time in the ring in the gym as we do a lot of ring work in Dallas, and that’s the closest thing to a fight. It’s not just hitting the bags and mitts, there’s a lot of combat training so I am physically ready.”
“It would be silly to underestimate him, or anyone. I have to take him deadly serious and credit to him, he’s coming to roll the dice, he wants to win. Other heavyweights that were mentioned, finance is an issue – risk versus reward, but in reality, that’s not all there is for him, so good luck to him, and shout out to everyone in Finland, I’ve been there before, and we’re looking to provide some good entertainment from top to bottom as the card is unbelievable.”
“The card is phenomenal, it’s the old days at The O2 and this is what we want to bring, it’s entertainment. It’s not ‘I’m coming out to watch Anthony Joshua’, no, it’s ‘I’m coming out to watch a Matchroom show, a great night of boxing’, so credit to everyone involved in this.”
Robert Helenius: I’ve been chasing the world title for 15 years
Mariehamn, Finland-based Robert Helenius (32-4, 21 KOs) was in action earlier this month when he stopped Mika Mielonen in the third round. In October 2022, the 39-year-old native of Stockholm, Sweden was stopped by former WBC heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder in the first round.
“Thank you for giving me this opportunity. This fight offer came to me after my fight at the weekend. I was going on vacation with my family but not anymore, here we are. We had a good camp behind us, and we feel ready. I am ready to fight, otherwise I wouldn’t be here. I respect him, he’s a good fighter. It’s going to be glorious. I’ve been chasing the world title for 15 years and when you get this big of an opportunity you can’t let it slip and I will give everything to win this fight.”
In Australia, Joshua vs Helenius airs live on Sunday, August 13.
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