Nigerian-born British heavyweight boxer, Anthony Joshua, had said that he is going to “war” with Finnish heavyweight boxer, Robert Helenius later tonight, August 12.
Robert Helenius made himself available to replace Dillian Whyte who had to step down from the fight after failing a drug test and is currently under investigation.
Even though Whyte is no longer involved in the August 12 bout, the plans remain the same as the game is scheduled to go down at the prestigious O2 Arena from 10 p.m. local time as originally planned.
Ahead of the bout, Anthony Joshua spoke to Sky Sports about his plans for the fight and he stressed that he intends to do “a good job” against the Finnish heavyweight boxer later tonight.
“I block out everyone’s expectations and opinions, just do my job. That’s all that matters”, the former two times world heavyweight champion said.
“We’re going to war, we’re going to fight. This is just another stepping stone to greatness”.
On how he has been preparing for a bout of this magnitude, the 33-year-old heavyweight boxer added, “I train hard, which means I can fight hard.
“There’s always something tempting us, but I think young athletes should focus on the task at hand. I am laser-focused on the win.”
During their weight check session ahead of the bout, Joshua weighed 250 pounds, the same as when he took on Wladimir Klitschko in 2017, and Helenius weighed 249.4 pounds.
Joshua has had a successful career, winning fights against notable opponents including Klitschko, Joseph Parker, and Andy Ruiz.
However, he has had trouble dealing with Oleksandr Usyk who has defeated him two times in a row.
On April 1, he defeated Jermaine Franklin Jr. by unanimous decision, and he is entering tonight’s bout fresh off that victory.
On the other hand, Robert Helenius has a record of 32 wins and 4 losses. He was victorious in his most recent match by third-round knockout barely a week ago.
