Seven days after his scheduled fight with Dillian Whyte fell through because of his compatriot’s failed voluntary drug test, British former heavyweight world champion Anthony Joshua faces late replacement Robert Helenius at London’s O2 Arena on Saturday night.
Joshua has a mixed record against late stand-ins, suffering a broken nose on his way to a 10th-round TKO of Carlos Takam in 2017 and, in the greatest shock of his career, losing via seventh-round stoppage to Andy Ruiz in his first defeat in 2019.
Towering Finn Helenius had fought less than a round in 22 months before his third-round knockout of Mika Mielonen last Saturday. In October 2022, Helenius succumbed to a brutal first-round knockout defeat to Deontay Wilder in New York.
His second opponent in a week hopes to fight Wilder before the end of 2023, and there are bound to be questions about whether Joshua is ready for that fight if he does not convincingly beat a 39-year-old who has never challenged for a world title.
The Sporting News will provide results and highlights from Joshua vs. Helenius. Stay tuned!
WATCH: Anthony Joshua vs. Robert Helenius, live on DAZN
Anthony Joshua vs. Robert Helenius results, highlights
All times BST
8.35 p.m.: Epic end to Johnny Fisher’s meaty scrap with Harry Armstrong! Fisher connects, from seemingly nowhere, with a series of shuddering right hands. One of his huge overhands wobbles Armstrong against the ropes and somehow doesn’t send him down.
What a chin Armstrong has. He’s bloodied but not beaten until the towel rightly comes in, and takes oxygen on his stool after providing a brave test of Fisher’s stamina.
Then he returns to his feet and has his hand raised by Fisher in a show of respect before the official result is confirmed.
8.25 p.m.: Anthony Joshua’s promoter, Eddie Hearn, was interviewed before this fight.
Hearn claimed a clash with Deontay Wilder is being targeted for Saudi Arabia in January. “The Saudis are here tonight to make that fight,” he told DAZN. “We’ve got a three-fight plan that goes Helenius, Wilder and Fury.”
Meanwhile, here’s that flattener from Fisher a little earlier.
WHAT A START FROM @JohnnyFisherBox 😳#JoshuaHelenius pic.twitter.com/k5K2JZbLbk
— DAZN Boxing (@DAZNBoxing) August 12, 2023
8.20 p.m.: Huge credit to Harry Armstrong in this southern area heavyweight title bout, who’s held his own since being put down by Johnny Fisher right at the start of the fight.
As we enter round four, Armstrong has only landed one fewer punch than Fisher’s 21.
8.05 p.m.: What a start from Johnny Fisher, who’s clearly buoyed by that reception as he knocks Harry Armstrong down immediately! A straight right hand and left hook do the damage, among a barrage of shots in a corner.
Armstrong recovers and looks surprisingly stable, considering the concussive look of that knockdown. He goes on to apply pressure as the round ends.
8 p.m.: You know who’s heading for the ring when you hear Take Me Home, Country Roads sung by a large crowd.
The hugely popular Johnny Fisher – known as The Romford Bull – makes his way to centre stage!
7.48 p.m.: Campbell Hatton remains unbeaten in all 13 of his professional fights! The 22-year-old was taken a distance he’s never been before by Tom Hansell, having secured knockout wins in both of his previous eight-rounders.
There’s not a great deal of ceremony as Hatton’s arm is raised. Job done, and he’ll doubtless regard this as a valuable experience.
“I’d fight someone off the streets,” says Anthony Joshua in a pre-recorded interview. “Robert Helenius is credible. He was realistic.”
Eight rounds in the bank and another win for @CampbellHatton 🙌#JoshuaHelenius pic.twitter.com/ie6NkncRhU
— DAZN Boxing (@DAZNBoxing) August 12, 2023
7.40 p.m.: Campbell Hatton has started the action tonight. In his familiar Manchester City-embroidered shorts, he’s currently midway through the seventh round of his bout with Tom Ansell.
Finding the target 🎯#JoshuaHelenius pic.twitter.com/4BQBHgawce
— DAZN Boxing (@DAZNBoxing) August 12, 2023
7.20 p.m.: Tonight’s headliners shared at least 16 rounds with each other as sparring partners in 2017. “AJ is a beast but I’m a nightmare,” Robert Helenius said of their time in the ring.
7 p.m.: At around the time that he beat Derek Chisora in 2011, Robert Helenius has said he was dodged by Wladmir Klitschko – the dominant force in the division at the time.
“I would really have liked to fight him but they also told me back then that he didn’t want to fight me,” Helenius told Sky Sports in 2020.
“I don’t know why. I think I was very, very close. I was number six on [statistics site] Boxrec] and I was number one challenger for his belt back then.”
Helenius was unbeaten at the time and continued his perfect record for 22 fights before being knocked out in the sixth round by Johann Duhaupas in Helsinki in 2016, when he challenged for a version of the WBC title.
6.40 p.m.: “It’s not a case of if Joshua wins, but when,” predicts my esteemed colleague Tom Gray, whose words on boxing are always an excellent read.
“As a barometer for how AJ may get the job done here, it’s probably best to look at the Wilder fight. While Joshua doesn’t punch as hard as ‘The Bronze Bomber’, he still has 22 knockouts in 25 wins and can crack with both hands.”
Read Tom’s full prediction on sportingnews.com.
6.20 p.m.: It might not have ended well when Robert Helenius later fought Deontay Wilder, but the sparring sessions between the pair before the fighter known as ‘The Nordic Nightmare’ took on Erkan Teper in Germany in 2018 appear to have gone well.
“Big thank you to Wilder and his crew for a fantastic camp,” Helenius said at the time, proceeding to win the vacant IBF Inter-Continental heavyweight title.
Alas, Helenius was knocked out in the eighth round by Gerald Washington in his subsequent fight. Washington will tonight face Derek Chisora, who Helenius beat via split decision in Helsinki in 2011.
6 p.m.: Hello everyone and welcome to The Sporting News’ live coverage of Joshua vs. Helenius.
The main card starts at 7 p.m. local time (2 p.m. ET).
When is Anthony Joshua vs. Robert Helenius?
The Joshua vs. Helenius main card starts at 7 p.m. local time, which is 2 p.m. ET. Both fighters should make their way to the ring around 10:15 p.m. BST (5:15 p.m. ET), depending on how long the undercard fights last. Here’s how that translates to different timezones globally:
| Region | Date | Main Card Start Time | Main Event Ring Walks (approx.) |
| USA and Canada (ET) | Saturday, August 12 | 2 p.m. ET | 5:15 p.m. ET |
| USA and Canada (PT) | Saturday, August 12 | 11 a.m. PT | 2:15 p.m. PT |
| UK and Ireland | Saturday, August 12 | 7 p.m. BST | 10:15 p.m. BST |
| Australia | Sunday, August 13 | 4 a.m. AEST | 7:15 a.m. AEST |
How to watch Anthony Joshua vs. Robert Helenius
| Region | TV channel | Live streaming |
| USA | — | DAZN |
| Canada | — | DAZN |
| UK and Ireland | DAZN 1 HD | DAZN |
| Australia | — | DAZN |
The Anthony Joshua vs. Robert Helenius fight card will be available via DAZN. It will no longer be a PPV in the U.K.
WATCH: Anthony Joshua vs. Robert Helenius, live on DAZN
Now available as a Sky channel, DAZN 1 HD is exclusive to Sky.
Anthony Joshua vs. Robert Helenius price: How much does the card cost?
- DAZN monthly subscription: $19.99 on a 12-month contract or $24.99 month-to-month in U.S. / $24.99 per month in Canada / £9.99 in the U.K. on a 12-month contract or £19.99 month-to-month / 13.99 AUD
- DAZN annual subscription: $224.99 in U.S., $199.99 in Canada, £99.99 in the U.K.
Anthony Joshua vs. Robert Helenius results
- Anthony Joshua vs. Robert Helenius; Heavyweights
- Filip Hrgovic vs. Demsey McKean; Heavyweights
- Derek Chisora vs. Gerald Washington; Heavyweights
- Johnny Fisher vs. Harry Armstrong by 7th round KO; Heavyweights
- Campbell Hatton def. Tom Ansell on points; Heavyweights
- Maisey Rose Courtney vs. Gemma Ruegg; Super Flyweights
- George Liddard vs. Radek Rousal; Middleweights