Anthony Joshua, the former unified heavyweight champion, defeated Robert Helenius in the seventh round of their heavyweight fight to get his first knockout victory since defeating Kubrat Puliev on December 12, 2020.
Initially, Joshua was scheduled to face Whyte in the O2 Arena for a third time; he had previously defeated Whyte as an amateur before eliminating him in 2015. But Whyte failed a drug test last week, and as a result, he was disqualified from tonight’s main event. After only seven days of fighting and triumphing in Finland, Helenius intervened.
Helenius made an aggressive effort to put Joshua on the back foot, but Joshua steadily built up his attack with his jabs and waited for his opening, which did not materialize until the seventh round.
Boos reverberated around the arena in the third round as the London fans grew agitated due to Joshua’s continued refusal to use any potentially harmful punches.
Then, after landing three punches, he silenced the 02 audience with a quick right hand that knocked Helenius to the ground.
Given how quickly it ended, the referee didn’t even look to make a count when Helenius crumbled and rolled down the ropes.
After the match, Joshua leaped outside the ring to embrace Conor McGregor, a former UFC champion.
The crowd wanted to see Joshua’s knockout side again after his last three fights went the distance, so they urged him to be more aggressive. This is a massive victory for Joshua.
Despite Helenius’ first-round knockout by Deontay Wilder, Joshua will take heart from this outcome in light of a potential matchup with the former WBC heavyweight champion.