Joshua knocks out Helenius in brutal style to ship Wilder warning

Aug 13, 2023 at 12:18 AM

The former two-time world heavyweight champion detonated an infinite overhand proper within the seventh spherical to knock his late alternative opponent out chilly at London’s O2 Arena on Saturday night time, setting the scene for a mammoth showdown in opposition to Wilder that’s being focused for Saudi Arabia in January.

It was one other affected person if undeniably tentative efficiency from Joshua, to the frustration of many within the crowd who jeered and whistled at one stage as they anticipated an emphatic early knockout such because the one Wilder provided in opposition to Helenius within the first spherical in New York solely final yr.

However, in contrast to in opposition to Jermaine Franklin in April, when Joshua laboured to a boring factors win off the again of these successive defeats by Oleksandr Usyk, it got here with an explosive end akin to the Joshua of outdated as one big punch ended the combat right away and despatched Helenius crashing helplessly to the canvas.

The 39-year-old Helenius – a former two-time European champion who solely fought final weekend in a fort in his native Finland, profitable on his return from that heavy Wilder knockout – gave a stable account of himself in any other case contemplating he took the combat on simply seven days’ discover after the cancellation of Joshua’s second skilled grudge match with long-time rival Dillian Whyte, with Whyte having returned “adverse analytical findings” in a random pre-fight anti-doping check.

On Saturday’s undercard, Derek Chisora laboured to a thirty fourth profession victory over American Gerald Washington in a battle of two veteran heavyweights.