Finnish boxer Robert Helenius will face Deontay Wilder, currently the hardest knockout in the heavyweight division, on October 15. The match can still have a World Cup title value.
17.8.•Updated 17.8.
Professional boxer Robert Helenius38, takes on the American heavyweight superstar Deontay Wilder, 36, in New York on October 15. The meeting of the heavyweight giants is the main match of the evening at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn.
– Now I finally have official permission to confirm all the rumors as true, Helenius’ manager Markus Sundman tells.
– What’s even better, this is what Robert wants. He’s at the age where it’s now or never.
The largest match fee paid to a Finnish boxer
– The promise is definitely the biggest reward of Robert’s career. I can’t say more. Only Robert, if he wants to, can say how much he will be paid for the match, says Sundman.
Helenius does not want to say the exact amount of money. He reminds that a lot of percentages of the fee are planed for various partners.
– At most, I will get half of the announced fee. The prize money from the previous match will be used to prepare for this Wilder match, Helenius explains.
From main spar to Wilder’s challenger
Helenius goes to New York to fight, accompanied by stoppage victories in the previous three matches. He left the same arena as the winner in March 2020. Wilder, on the other hand, has the only two defeats of his career against the British For Tyson Fury.
Helenius has traveled to the United States three times before and has served as Wilder’s main sparring partner as Wilder prepares for title fights against Fury. So Wilder and Helenius have really measured each other in the ring for dozens of boxing rounds, the last time a year ago.
– There was constant tension in the ring then. I was able to measure up well with him and kept up well. Wilder is a good boxer and has a hard right hand. I have sparred with him so much that I know how to watch out for the right one.
– We have a good strategy to beat him. I just have to be really active in this match.
Former world heavyweight champion Wilder is best known for his unique boxing style as one of the hardest knockouts in heavyweight history. Wilder, who hails from Alabama, was the WBC heavyweight champion from 2015 to 2020. Wilder has knocked out almost every opponent with his straight right hand.
Helenius’ coach Johan Lindström considers facing the dangerous Alabama knockout machine a great opportunity.
– For eight years we have been aiming for the absolute top and now with this match we will get there. I have seen Robert spar with Wilder many times and the differences between the men are small.
Lindström’s faith in the possibilities of his protégé is strong. In his opinion, Helenius is a more versatile and tactically smarter boxer than Wilder, who fights with a big heart.
– The boxer who succeeds mentally and physically in finishing better will win this match, predicts Lindström.
Two different worlds meet in New York
Helenius and former world champion Wilder’s starting points for the big match are very different. Wilder, who lives in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, is a millionaire surrounded by a massive American support network, and there is no need to spare anything as the former champion prepares to face Helenius.
Helenius’s situation is quite different. There has been a lack of money several times during my career.
Helenius, who lives in Åland with his family, talked about his difficult financial situation before his last match in November 2021.
The corona pandemic and difficult negotiations about the upcoming match made the intervals between Helenius’ accounting days unbearably long. At that time, Helenius had had to borrow money even for his family’s food purchases.
– My financial situation was difficult and I had to think about all kinds of options. Putting on gloves and going to normal work also had to be thought about. Fortunately, I had people around me who helped, says Helenius.
Now Helenius is preparing for the match in Åland in a small gym built in an industrial hall under the leadership of his coach Lindström. Helenius’ team has to buy, fly and host the training opponents to Åland out of their own pocket.
– This is also our biggest financial investment of all time. We invite boxers here from different parts of Europe, including Ukraine and Iceland. The budget for preparation is double compared to before, says manager Sundman.
Three weeks before the match, Helenius and his team prepare on site in New York. Helenius’ background team thinks the time difference is the biggest challenge in preparing for the match.
In boxing, a match and an entire sports career can depend on one punch, especially in the heavyweight division, where you hit hard. On the other hand, this also gives the always hard-hitting men a chance to surprise. Helenius is once again on the brink of the toughest challenge and opportunity of his career.
Deontay Wilder held the WBC title for a long time until he lost it to Tyson Fury in 2020. Fury recently announced his retirement, so the WBC heavyweight title is currently vacant.
Immediately after Fury’s announcement of his retirement, former champion Wilder was promoted to first in the WBC ranking. Helenius’ match might be worthy of a championship belt.
– I hope that after this match at the latest I will get to fight for the World Championship title, if it doesn’t come in this match, then in the next one, says Helenius.