Should Anthony Joshua be fighting Helenius?

After Dillian Whyte was ruled out of his fight this weekend against former unified heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua, the former champ had to quickly find a replacement or risk not fighting at all. Joshua will now be fighting Robert Helenius on August the 12th in what will be a last minute replacement. The question many are asking however is whether AJ should be fighting Helenius this weekend or not? Let’s discuss the topic.

Robert Helenius has had a solid career with his best wins arguably coming recently in 2 upsets against former contender Adam Kownacki. Helenius has solid fundamentals but he’s nothing to write home about in that department. He has some pretty good power however and hits like a mule. Many fans will remember him from when he fought Deontay Wilder in his last fight where Deontay flatlined him in under 3 minutes. That fight does not represent Helenius properly however and fans should not underestimate him after seeing that performance. Wilder has a one in a lifetime right hand that if it lands will take out anybody. Unfortunately for Helenius it just landed in the first round. Another thing to note is that Helenius actually fought Dillian Whyte, the original opponent for AJ, many years ago and lost on points. It was a close enough fight so if fans were okay with Whyte this isn’t too bad of a replacement.

Overall I think Helenius isn’t the best opponent for AJ to fight however as a last minute replacement it is not bad at all. Helenius poses some danger with his power but as long as AJ boxes smart and isn’t influenced to try and outperform Wilder then it should be a good night for him. There are a section of fans who are critical of AJ for not taking on a Hrgovic or someone of that calibre however I think it’s hardly fair to use that criticism when AJ is less than a week from the fight. Top opponents like Hrgovic need a camp tp be ready for. I think it’s also incredibly silly when the “best heavyweight on the planet” last fought a trilogy match against a guy who is incredibly washed and who he has soundly beaten twice and now he is about to take on a fighter who has never fought a professional boxing match in his life. Oh yeah and Anthony doesn’t hold a world title belt either. I think the AJ hate is overdone and that ultimately Helenius is a very viable replacement on such short notice. I even heard AJ is taking a pay cut to remove the fight from PPV.