Heavyweight Anthony Joshua spectacularly knocked out Robert Helenius with one punch in round seven, after boxing tentatively in the first half of the fight at London’s O2 Arena.
The 33-year-old Briton who was jeered by fans during the
fight – landed nothing of note until an overhand right ended Helenius’ night.
The win is Joshua’s first stoppage win in two and half
years, sets up a blockbuster fight with American Deontay Wilder in January.
“It’s a fickle sport, you’ve got to be real about this
industry and not get caught up. I’ve done my job tonight,” Joshua told BBC
Radio 5 live.
When asked in the ring about the potential fight with
Wilder, Joshua joked: “My back’s gone, is there a doctor in here? I want to
carry this heavyweight division to the top.”
After the knockout, an emotionally charged and smiling
Joshua climbed out of the ring, high-fived fans and shared a beer with Irish
mixed martial arts star Conor McGregor.
Helenius needed oxygen after the heavy knockdown, but
recovered and left the ring unassisted after congratulating Joshua.
Joshua extends his record to 26 wins with 23 stoppages and
three defeats.
Finland’s Helenius who took the fight on a weeks’ notice
after Briton Dillian Whyte failed a voluntary drug test loses his fifth pro
fight in 36 outings.
Helenius took the middle of the ring and swung a wild left
in the first few seconds. The ‘Nordic Nightmare’ looked unfazed by the hostile
atmosphere but neither man landed anything of note in a cagey opener.
Joshua was moving freely, looking to set traps but throwing
single shots and not imposing himself on the stand-in fighter.
Fans started to become restless as early as the third. Boos
echoed around the arena. The crowd wanted to see combinations, not this
tentative approach.
Joshua had not knocked out an opponent in the first half of
a fight since beating Eric Molina in 2016, a staggering statistic for someone
once considered one of the heaviest hitters in boxing.
The Watford-born fighter landed a solid left in the fourth
which sent Helenius backpedalling, but there was no sustained attack to follow.
Helenius grew in confidence, landing jabs to mark Joshua
under the eye in the fifth. There were more jeers from a bored crowd at the
halfway stage.
“It’s hard to find the right hand,” Joshua told trainer
Derrick James. The American replied: “Keep trying.”
Joshua adhered to the instructions. Those fans who left
their seats missed what promoter Eddie Hearn described as the “knockout of the
year”.
A double feint followed by a right sent the Finn to the
canvas, with referee Victor Loughlin halting the contest.
