Anthony Joshua vs Robert Helenius Prediction: No Chance for the Nordic Nightmare

On the night of August 12th and 13th, London's legendary O2 Arena will host a fight between Anthony Joshua and Finnish heavyweight Robert Helenius, who has stepped in to replace Dillian Whyte on short notice.

Anthony Joshua is the same boxer who sent Wladimir Klitschko into retirement. The former IBF, WBA, WBO, IBO heavyweight champion crushed his opponents heartlessly and dreamed of an absolute fight with Deontay Wilder.

And this series of successful fights created a flair of invincibility, which relaxed the Brit. In June 2019, the entire world of professional boxing was shocked by Joshua's defeat in the fight with Andy Ruiz. Before the bout, many people teased the well-fed American, believing that he posed no threat to the British athlete. However, Andy proved the critics wrong and won by technical knockout in the seventh round.

Anthony then rallied to win the rematch against Ruiz by decision and knocked out Kubrat Pulev.

The same Joshua seemed to be back, but then Oleksandr Usyk appeared on the horizon. In the first fight, the Ukrainian taught the Brit some lessons. Anthony tried to improve in the rematch and looked better, but it was not enough to defeat Usik.

He reacted emotionally to the second defeat and threw a tantrum in the ring. After the bout, there were rumors that Joshua might retire, but he decided to fight anyway.

On April 1st, 2023, the former champion calmly defeated Jermaine Franklin by points, but the audience expected a more spectacular triumph from him.

The former WBA Gold World Champion was not supposed to fight Joshua, but Dillian Whyte failed doping tests, and Anthony had to look for a replacement. Helenius immediately offered himself, despite his last fight on August 5th, when he defeated Mika Mielonen by technical knockout.

Robert does not hide his joy that he managed to get into a fight with Joshua. A solid fee is assured to him, and no one canceled the chances for a lucky punch.

Helenius is one of the most essential boxers in Finland, but he still needs to become a superstar in professional boxing. Last October, Robert met Deontay Wilder in the ring and was knocked out in the first round. The Finn has wins over Dereck Chisora and Adam Kownacki, but Helenius's record is modest otherwise.

Joshua is a favorite in this fight. We are dealing with boxers of different levels, plus Helenius comes to the bout without any preparation to make money. Robert has a chance for a random punch, but something tells us that Anthony will be focused and not make any mistakes.

Helenius' best years are far behind him, and now he's desperately clinging to the opportunity to make some good money. This fight doesn't cause global sense for Joshua, but he might regain his confidence with a big win. We don't think Anthony can handle Robert any quicker than Wilder but will finish the job before the seventh round starts.