Anthony Joshua emerged victorious against Robert Helenius on Saturday night with a seventh-round knockout of the Finn.
Boxing fans at London’s ‘O2 Arena‘ witnessed the 33-year-old’s first professional stoppage in almost three years. Joshua’s last knockout win came back in 2020 against veteran Bulgarian Kubrat Pulev.
Helenius was a late replacement opponent for the former Heavyweight champion, who was originally meant to take on fellow countryman and long-standing rival Dillian Whyte. The 39-year-old put in a decent display throughout the fight’s first half, before succumbing to a highlight-reel right hand from Joshua.
Helenius was sent crashing to canvas halfway into the seventh round, one week after beating Mika Mielonen via decision.
It was a stoppage that many believed Anthony Joshua desperately needed, although the Englishman appeared tentative early on. American knockout-specialist Deontay Wilder is rumoured to be Joshua’s next opponent, who brutally finished Helenius in the first round last time out.
Fellow Fighters React to Anthony Joshua Knockout
The Englishman remains one of the biggest stars in boxing globally, despite losing three of his last seven fights.
Many were expected to tune in to DAZN on Saturday to watch Joshua attempt to regain his former image. This clearly included an abundance of fellow professionals, with many willing to comment on the knockout.
Deontay Wilder
Wilder’s coach Malik Scott told October Red: “He [Wilder] was like ‘we needed that.’ We both said the same thing because at first it was looking like it was getting ready to go the distance so when the knockout came I called him on FaceTime and he was like ‘I’m glad he got that, we needed it done just like that.'”
Josh Taylor
Ryan Garcia
George Groves
Groves told Boxing Social: “Good enough. He looked a bit nervous I thought, a bit tentative, and it took a while to get going. Helenius wasn’t great but he wasn’t awful either.
“You can’t bet your life on what’s next off the back of that performance, but you can’t say he’s doing bad. Good for him – a spectacular knockout.”
Chris Eubank Jr
Conor McGregor
Regis Prograis
Anthony Joshua
Fans will have to wait any confirmation of Joshua’s next opponent, although many will be hoping to see him take on Wilder in the near future.
Who do you want to see Anthony Joshua take on next? What did you make of his performance? Let us know in the comments!
Featured image credits to Embed from Getty Images
