Anthony Joshua news LIVE: AJ and Robert Helenius weigh in ahead of heavyweight fight
Joshua will fight Helenius, who steps in on short notice, after Whyte’s ‘adverse finding’ in a drug test
Anthony Joshua will fight Robert Helenius on Saturday, after original opponent Dillian Whyte returned an ‘adverse finding’ in a drug test last week.
Joshua vs Whyte 2 would have been a rematch eight years in the making, with “AJ” having knocked out his fellow Briton in 2015 to avenge an amateur defeat by Whyte. However, Saturday’s rematch at the O2 Arena in London fell through when Whyte, 35, failed a doping test last week. Whyte has maintained his innocence, while it was initially unclear whether Joshua, 33, would still compete on Saturday. But his promoter Eddie Hearn then teased an announcement on Tuesday (8 August), with fans learning that Helenius will replace Whyte.
Helenius, 39, is a Finnish heavyweight who appeared to retire in October after being knocked out by Deontay Wilder in the first round. However, he returned just last weekend with a TKO win over Mika Mielonen. Meanwhile, Joshua – a former two-time world heavyweight champion – last boxed in April, beating Jermaine Franklin on points at the O2 to bounce back from two straight losses to Oleksandr Usyk. Follow live updates below.
Watch Joshua vs Helenius live on Dazn by clicking here. We may earn commission from some of the links in this article, but we never allow this to influence our content. This revenue helps to fund journalism across The Independent.
What it’s really like to get punched by Anthony Joshua
“There’s a comparison of hitting something with a sledgehammer, or hitting something with a normal hammer a lot of times – you know, like when you hit a nail,” Frazer Clarke says.
So, which comparison applies to getting punched by Anthony Joshua? Well, both, it turns out.
“[The latter] is what it is with Joshua, then he’ll finish you off with a sledgehammer on the last shot,” Clarke tells The Independent. “Boom!”
Clarke knows what he is talking about, not just as an experienced boxer – unbeaten so far in his professional career – but as one who has first-hand experience of Joshua’s punching power. Clarke, 31, spent years training with “AJ” and followed his fellow Briton’s Olympic triumph at London 2012 with a medal of his own at Tokyo 2020.
Full article:
This is what it’s really like to get punched by Anthony Joshua
Unbeaten heavyweight Frazer Clarke, a former training partner of ‘AJ’, has faced the furious blows of the ex-world title holder... and lived to tell the tale to Alex Pattle
Anthony Joshua was at career-heaviest weight in Jermaine Franklin fight
For his clash with Jermaine Franklin in April, Anthony Joshua came in at a career-heaviest weight of 255.4lbs (18.2 stone).
That was 11lbs heavier than the Briton weighed in for his previous fight, his second straight loss to Oleksandr Usyk.
Joshua also outweighed Frankin by 21lbs, and he would go on to beat the American on points at the O2 Arena.
Before Joshua returns to that venue tomorrow, how will his weight compare when he hits the scales today?
We’ll find out in a few hours...
Anthony Joshua hits career-heaviest weight for Jermaine Franklin fight
Joshua was 11lbs heavier than in his last fight, while Franklin was 23lbs lighter than in his most recent bout
Exclusive interview - Campbell Hatton on a life immersed in boxing
You can watch our interview with Campbell in full, right here:
Exclusive interview - Campbell Hatton on a life immersed in boxing
“I remember being in the gym at four or five years old,” Campbell Hatton says. “I’ll have been in there sooner; my nana always told me I used to have my nappy changed on the ring apron! I remember watching my dad and uncle train, messing about on the bags myself. There isn’t a time I can remember when boxing wasn’t a part of my life.”
Hatton, son of British boxing icon Ricky, speaks to The Independent about a life immersed in the sport, and his fight with Tom Ansell on the Joshua-Helenius card:
Campbell Hatton: ‘I used to have my nappy changed on the ring apron!’
Exclusive interview: As the son of British boxing icon Ricky Hatton, Campbell was immersed in the sport from day one
Anthony Joshua and Robert Helenius weigh-ins LIVE
Joshua, Helenius and the undercard fighters will be weighing in this afternoon, with weigh-ins starting at 1pm BST.
Interview: Helenius on accepting Joshua fight – ‘Nobody remembers a coward’
Somewhere in a castle in Finland on Saturday night, five minutes removed from beating Mika Mielonen, Robert Helenius was posed a question. “Dillian Whyte is out; are you in?” Fighting Anthony Joshua in London on seven days’ notice was the proposition, and it was one that Helenius accepted with little hesitation. Four days on, he casually tells reporters in the English capital: “Nobody will remember a coward.”
Few would have labelled Helenius as such, had he decided not to take this fight with Joshua in the wake of Whyte’s failed drug test, but the Finn himself would have lived with regret.
That said, there was more to Helenius’s decision than just that. “Of course I think he’s vulnerable,” the 39-year-old says of Joshua, with whom he sparred in 2017. “I wouldn’t be here otherwise. I think I’d find easier jobs to do. I’m gonna take my chances and say now is the best time to fight him.”
Interview:
Robert Helenius on accepting Anthony Joshua fight: ‘Nobody will remember a coward’
Interview: Five minutes after fighting last week, the Finn agreed to replace Dillian Whyte on seven days’ notice
Anthony Joshua reveals which of his three losses hurt the most
“I wasn’t supposed to lose, in my head. It just... I give my life to this game, man. I give everything, I swear to you. I give a lot. Even talking about it now, it just makes me feel like... choked up a bit.
“When you put everything into something, it’s not easy... The only thing we get credit for is winning, there’s no silver medal in boxing. And what I gave wasn’t enough.”
Anthony Joshua reveals which of his three defeats hurt the most
Joshua suffered a shock TKO defeat by Andy Ruiz Jr in 2019, before losing to Oleksandr Usyk on points in 2021 and 2022
Joshua vs Helenius: More interviews incoming
The Independent and other publications spoke to Joshua and Helenius yesterday, and you can read the first piece of content from those chats in the article just below.
The rest of what was covered in those interviews will be released later today and tomorrow, with Helenius’s thoughts arriving on The Independent at 8pm BST today, and Joshua’s following at 8pm tomorrow.
We’ll also have an exclusive interview with Campbell Hatton for you tomorrow, ahead of his undercard fight on Saturday.
Anthony Joshua and Robert Helenius go in-depth on boxing’s doping ‘problem’
Helenius will fight Joshua on seven days’ notice on Saturday, after the latter’s original opponent Dillian Whyte failed a drug test
Full Joshua vs Helenius card this weekend
Subject to change...
Anthony Joshua vs Robert Helenius (heavyweight)
Filip Hrgovic vs Demsey McKean (heavyweight)
Johnny Fisher vs Harry Armstrong (heavyweight)
Derek Chisora vs Gerald Washington (heavyweight)
Campbell Hatton vs Tom Ansell (super-lightweight)
George Liddard vs Bas Oosterweghel (middleweight)
Brandon Scott vs Louis Norman (featherweight)
Maisey Rose Courtney vs Gemma Ruegg (super-flyweight)
Who is fighting on the Joshua vs Helenius undercard this weekend?
Here’s all you need to know as ‘AJ’ faces the Finn on short notice
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