“He came here without fear”

Anthony Joshua, who knocked out Helenius, will probably fight Deontay Wilder next.

Robert Helenius suffered defeat at a London boxing night when Anthony Joshua knocked him out in the seventh round. Despite the loss, with an emergency alert Dillian Whyte the Finn, who was alerted as a substitute, was praised after the match.

Joshua thanked Helenius for the first time in the ring interview.

– I want big applause for Helenius. He came in here and saved the show. Thank you Robert, Joshua said.

– Today, losing in professional boxing is like suicide, but the guy is talented. When we got him as a replacement, I thought he could cause a lot of problems. Gotta thank him when he came here.

Joshua is likely to face a heavy hitter next Deontay Wilder. When Joshua was asked about the possible match, he joked.

– My back hurts. Is there a doctor here? Because I’m going to carry this heavyweight on my back to the top!

Shortly after this, another showman, a UFC legend, stepped into the ring Conor McGregor, who praised both fighters.

– The biggest ones are not in a hurry. AJ took his time and hit a hard right straight. I’m just glad Helenius got up. The fans should be grateful that the Finn came here as a last-minute substitute without fear. He put on a decent show. He and the team can be proud.

Helenius told Urheilu that McGregor came to praise him.

– He came to tell me that it was well received. Oh my god, with a week’s notice, you pulled off so well. I got respect.

Hearn defended his protégé

London event promoter Eddie Hearn said that he wanted a tough heavyweight to replace Whyte.

– I wanted someone who is okay. Helenius boxed a week ago and won by knockout. He’s a good heavyweight who can punch. AJ had to take it easy. Everyone was waiting for one, two or three installments. Helenius is a world-class heavyweight and he saved the night’s show.

Joshua had trouble getting into a rhythm in the match and finding room for right hand strikes. Especially at the beginning of the match, the tempo was calm, and the home crowd booed their favorites.

According to Hearn, Joshua took it easy because there was a lot to lose in the fight and because he has improved as a boxer. In his younger days, Joshua was known as an aggressive fighter.

– People want to see the old AJ. The old AJ was just an inexperienced guy who had to box like that because he didn’t know how to break an opponent. Now he is at the point where he can do things his own way and still entertain.

– He no longer takes risks that could cause him to lose a match he shouldn’t lose. He can do like today. In the ideal case, the victory would have come in 3-5 sets, in which case that reaction would not have been seen, Hearn said.