Anthony Joshua’s road to the top hit a hurdle with his latest loss to Daniel Dubois, but involved a few good wins for the Brit, including one over a man who fought twice in just one week.
Anthony Joshua took his second and third career defeats back-to-back when he lost his titles to Oleksandr Usyk.
Since then, the Brit has been on a mission to become a three-time heavyweight world champion, a mission that began with his comeback fight over Jermaine Franklin, who he beat, but not impressively.
Seeking to prove the doubters wrong, to show that his aggressive style was still there, Joshua made a fight with his biggest rival.
Anthony Joshua faced Robert Helenius after Dillian Whyte fight collapsed
Following his win over Franklin, who Whyte had handed his first defeat one fight prior by majority decision, Joshua was set to face Dillian Whyte for the second time.
The pair first fought in a bitter grudge match for the British title in 2015, a fight Joshua won by KO. It was the first loss of Whyte’s career but saw Whyte stopped by the same punch he’s lost to three times now – the uppercut.
The 2023 fight was cancelled when Whyte was found guilty of using PEDs, and the search was on for a new opponent. With just five days to go before the fight, one heavyweight, nicknamed ‘The Nordic Nightmare’ got the call.
Robert Helenius was chosen to fight Joshua on account of the fact that despite it being short notice, Helenius had completed a full fight camp as he had fought just days earlier, knocking out 6-0 Mika Mielonen in his comeback fight after losing to Deontay Wilder.
Helenius got the nod, and within days was in the ring with Joshua, who one-upped Wilder with his KO of Eric Molina. The Brit stopped the Finnish giant in the seventh round with a solid right hand, and that was the end of that.
Helenius has not fought since.
Robert Helenius destroyed the promising career of a rising star
Ahead of his loss to Wilder, Helenius picked up two brilliant wins over the previously undefeated Adam Kownacki.
Kownacki, nicknamed ‘Babyface’ for his youthful appearance, was 20-0 before being stopped by Helenius the first time, and had wins over Charles Martin, Gerald Washington, and Chris Arreola.
After being stopped in the fourth, Helenius and Kownacki fought once more, though Kownacki was stopped once again, this time in the sixth round.
Kownacki has fought three times since, including against Joe Cusumano who Daniel Dubois beat, and has lost every single one. His last fight saw him knocked out in the opening round last year, and is surely the last we’ll see of Babyface.