12 August 2023 , 22:51
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Anthony Joshua made up for a timid display against Robert Helenius by scoring a brutal seventh round knockout.
Joshua was originally set to rematch Dillian Whyte at the event almost eight years on from their first meeting, but Whyte was forced out of the fight because of a failed drug test. Several names were rumoured to replace Whyte, including some of those scheduled on the undercard, but it was who Helenius stepped up to save the show on a week’s notice.
It was Helenius who started the fight confidently as he took the centre of the ring and tried to land his right hand through the guard of ‘AJ’. The slow start continued for Joshua in the second round as it was Helenius pressed forward on the front-foot, with the pair both exchanging some good jabs to the body. The O2 crowd was getting restless come the third round as boos echoed around the arena with Joshua still refusing to throw many punches.
Joshua silenced the boos by landing a hard right hand that sent the sweat on Helenius’ head spraying as ‘AJ’ was finding his rhythm in the fourth stanza, but there was some swelling starting to form under his right eye. Joshua was landing some hard shots that troubled Helenius, but he failed to follow up on any of them.
Helenius raised his arms before the sixth round began but more boos were soon heard amongst the crowd and some fans even started to leave the arena. Joshua then made amends for the lacklustre showing in rounds prior by landing a huge right hand that knocked out Helenius before he even hit the mat and the fight was over in the seventh round.
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"I want to give a big round of applause to Robert Helenius," Joshua said after the fight. "People can leave me alone, I do what I want. Helenius has got talent and I think he can cause a lot of people problems.” When asked about a potential fight against Deontay Wilder, Joshua refused to go into specifics as he said: “My back’s gone from carrying this heavyweight division to the top!"
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Elsewhere on the card, Derek Chisora was in chief support against Gerald Washington as he won a unanimous decision. Filip Hrgovic cemented himself as the next challenger for the unified heavyweight world titles by stopping Demsey McKean in the final round. Hrgovic will now face the winner of Oleksandr Usyk and Daniel Dubois ' world title fight which takes place in Poland later this month.
Johnny Fisher captured the Southern Area heavyweight title by knocking out Harry Armstrong and Eddie Hearn was full of praise for the fan favourite after the fight as he backed him to win the British heavyweight belt and sell out The O2 arena in the future. Ricky Hatton's son Campbell was in action as he is now unbeaten 13 fights after going eight rounds with Tom Ansell.
'The Baddest Nerd on the Planet' Brandon Scott walked out in a Darth Vader costume as he picked up a win against gritty journeyman Louis Norman. In the opening bout of the evening, Maiseyrose Courtney kept her unbeaten record intact as she won a shoutout decision against Gemma Ruegg.