Anthony Joshua focused only on Robert Helenius amid Deontay Wilder speculation

By Sports Desk August 11, 2023

Anthony Joshua will try to ignore speculation and comparisons with Deontay Wilder when he steps into the ring to face Robert Helenius at London’s O2 Arena on Saturday.

Helenius was only drafted in at the 11th hour when original opponent Dillian Whyte failed a drugs test with the Voluntary Anti-Doping Assocation (VADA), but it has added further intrigue with Wilder’s shadow looming over the Briton.

The talk surrounding Joshua, like for many of his recent fights, is about what next and talks between his camp and Wilder’s team continue over a proposed clash at the end of this year or at the start of 2024.

An eagerly-anticipated future bout between two former world heavyweight champions will only happen if Joshua shuts out the noise to do the business against Helenius, who suffered a first-round knock-out to Wilder in October.

“I have to ignore it. It is one step at a time,” Joshua insisted when asked about ex-WBC belt holder Wilder.

“When I fought Jason Gavern, I knocked him out, Wilder took longer. When I fought Eric Molina, I knocked him out in three and Wilder took nine rounds.

“There will always be comparisons. This is my own fight with Helenius, no-one else’s. I can’t fail.”

Joshua repeated the same sentiments before a laboured display on his way to a unanimous points victory against Jermaine Franklin in April, which got the Finchley boxer back on the comeback trail, but his preparation for this 29th contest of his career has been far from ideal.

Last weekend, Joshua trained knowing it could all be for nothing after he discovered on Saturday morning that Whyte had been pulled from the show but Friday’s fiery weigh-in exchange with Helenius showed he is locked in.

Joshua tipped the scales at 17st and 12lbs, while Helenius was a pound lighter, before the duo exchanged words – with the British heavyweight inviting his veteran opponent to fight there and then instead of 24 hours later if he wished.

Joshua admitted: “There was one session where I was like, ‘what are we training for?’ We trained on Saturday and maybe then I felt what am I training for, but we just had to flip the coin.

“I could spend more time complaining about it, due to this late replacement whoever it might be, but I couldn’t put my energy into complaining. I had to change the script.”

Joshua, who reached the pinnacle of the sport with a victory over Wladimir Klitschko at a sold-out Wembley in 2017, still believes he can become world champion again but Helenius, who should be on a family holiday in Lapland after he beat Mika Mielonen inside a 15th-century castle in Finland last weekend, has other ideas.

Helenius added: “I can’t compare him to Wilder. I have also been sparring before with David Haye, I have been sparring the Klitschkos, both of them, I have been sparring Tyson Fury, Wilder.

“I have even been sparring Joshua when he was going against Klitschko so I have been a long time in this game.

“He is a tough guy. I think we went eight-round sessions. It was pretty close. Hard-hitter, good technicals, a little bit robotic but his last fight, he made a good fight against Jermaine.

“I haven’t been in the ring for a while with him but now is the best time to win.

“Nobody will remember a coward.”

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    Three of the four fights went to the Jamaica Defense Force (JDF) whose boxers looked well prepared and physically fitter than their opponents. Arguably the fight of the night was the final (elite) bout between Delano McLaughlin of the JDF and Kirk-Patrick Heron of the Port Antonio Gym in a light heavyweight match-up. Both fighters were very determined while going all three rounds of three minutes each. At times they traded blow for blow while taking some big punches but in the end McLaughlin landed more hits and was adjudged the winner. 

    The first JDF boxer to enter the ring was Gervin Garrison in a light heavyweight matchup with Sadeki Harris of GC Foster Gym. Both boxers got busy immediately but Garrison soon showed that he was the better fighter with cleaner punches and was more agile around the ring. Harris took a lot of punishment and showed a lot of heart to stay toe to toe with Garrison but just did not have the strength to throw some winning punches as Garrison came out the clear winner. 

    That fight gave way to another JDF match-up between with Shawn Morgan in a lop-sided super heavyweight face off with Vernando McKenzie of Funrobics Gym. McKenzie entered the ring confidently but could not handle the force and speed of Morgan. He faced referee Wayne Roberts count more than once in the less than two rounds that he was in the ring, as Roberts eventually stopped the fight midway in the second round. 

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    "Credit to him and his team. We rolled the dice of success, but we came up short," he told DAZN.

    "You know I'm ready to kick off in the ring, but I'm going to keep my cool, keep very professional, and give respect to my opponent.

    "I'm always saying to myself I'm a fighter for life... We keep rolling the dice.

    "I had a sharp opponent, a fast opponent and a lot of mistakes from my end, but that's the game."

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    "I'm sure he'll exercise that rematch clause, it's a given, it's a dangerous fight because he's growing in confidence all the time but he'll believe he can beat him," Hearn told DAZN.

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    Oleksandr Usyk vacated his IBF belt, labelling it as a present for the fight between Joshua and Dubois, the latter taking the title by default.

    Dubois left no doubts over the merit of his belt on Saturday, though, delivering a brutal fifth-round knockout blow to Joshua in front of a record-breaking crowd for the all-British clash at Wembley Stadium.

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    "It's been a journey and I'm grateful to be in this position. I'm a gladiator, I'm a warrior until the bitter end. I want to get to the top of this sport and reach my full potential.

    "Behind the scenes, the work with my dad. I've been on a rollercoaster run, this is my time, this is my redemption story. I'm not going to stop until I reach my full potential."

    Tyson Fury and Usyk are set for a Riyadh rematch in December, though Dubois will be waiting in the wings for a shot at the heavyweight pair.

    Joshua's promoter Eddie Hearn immediately suggested his fighter will seek to activate a rematch clause with Dubois, however.

    Whether Joshua can recover from this defeat remains to be seen, having been sent spiralling to the canvas multiple times, including in the opening round.

    Joshua appeared to have found a way back into the bout in the fifth, only for Dubois to land a crucial right-hand finisher, much to his understandable delight.

    "I am the man," he added to Sky Sports. "A mix of emotions. I can't say too much right now. I'm fighting to get all the glory. To me, I'm the hunter and I need to hunt."

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    Frank Warren echoed Dubois' sentiment, with the Queensbury promoter eyeing another shot at Usyk for Dubois, who lost to the Ukrainian in August last year.

    "It was a phenomenal fight and I always felt it would be a [Marvin] Hagler versus [Thomas] Hearns situation," Warren told DAZN. "AJ showed his heart right until the end. It was a brilliant fight.

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    WBO interim heavyweight champion Joseph Parker also put his name into the hat to face Dubois, with Fury and Usyk not set to meet until later this year, which would keep any challenger waiting.

    "If he [Dubois] wants to get it on then let's go," Parker said on DAZN immediately after the result.

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