The former two-time heavyweight world champion had initially been due to face long-time rival Dillian Whyte again, eight years on from when the pair first fought as professionals in a thrilling bout, having previously clashed as amateurs.
However, it was announced over the weekend that Whyte had returned an “adverse finding” from a doping test and the fight was quickly cancelled as a result, leaving Joshua’s team scrambling to find a new opponent at the 11th hour and ensure that the whole card was not scrapped.
Helenius is the man to step up, just a matter of days after he beat compatriot Mika Mielonen in his comeback fight held in a 15th-century castle on an island in his native Finland. The 39-year-old ‘Nordic Nightmare’, a two-time European champion who lost on points to Whyte in 2017, was brutally stopped in the first round when he took on Deontay Wilder in New York in October last year.
Joshua will hope to get his shot at Wilder in the near future, with a mega-fight agains the American pencilled in for January in Saudi Arabia, but first he must get the job done against Helenius, and ideally in convincing fashion.
He was disappointingly low key when beating Jermaine Franklin earlier this year, in his first fight working with new trainer Derrick James, and a return to the devastating style that took him to the top of boxing’s heavyweight scene would be a welcome one for Joshua before he goes into bouts against the division’s biggest names.
Joshua vs Helenius date, start time, venue and ring walks
The bout is scheduled to take place on Saturday August 12, 2023 at the O2 Arena in London.
The undercard is expected to get underway at 7pm BST, with the ring walks for the main event set for 10pm. As ever though, those timings are subject to change.
Joshua vs Helenius fight card/undercard in full
Filip Hrgovic, currently in line to challenge for Oleksandr Usyk’s IBF heavyweight belt, is in action on the undercard. He takes on unbeaten Australian Demsey McKean, who was linked with a fight against Tyson Fury earlier this summer.
The popular Johnny Fisher also features, while Derek Chisora fights Gerald Washington in a bout between two veterans of the division and Campbell Hatton steps up in the biggest test of his young career to date.
Anthony Joshua vs Robert Helenius
Filip Hrgovic vs Demsey McKean
Johnny Fisher vs Harry Armstrong
Derek Chisora vs Gerald Washington
Campbell Hatton vs Tom Ansell
Maiseyrose Courtney vs Gemma Ruegg
George Liddard vs Bas Oosterweghel
Brandon Scott vs Louis Norman
Derek Chisora returns for the first time since losing to Tyson Fury in December
/ Andrew Couldridge/Action Images via ReutersHow to watch Joshua vs Helenius
TV channel: Joshua vs Helenius is being broadcast live and exclusive on DAZN, but not via their pay-per-view service as the Whyte fight was originally supposed to be. A subscription to DAZN currently costs from £9.99 per month in the UK.
The sports streaming service has DAZN 1 HD in the UK and Ireland on channel 429 on Sky.
Live stream: The DAZN app and website will offer a live stream service online across mobile devices, laptops, games consoles and more.
Live blog: You can follow coverage of the entire card with Standard Sport’s live fight blog on Saturday night.
Joshua vs Helenius fight prediction
A late change of opponent is never easy for a fighter to deal with, as Joshua knows more than most after his shock defeat by Andy Ruiz Jr four years ago in New York.
Helenius offers a different challenge to Whyte, with the Finnish heavyweight a significantly taller man, and it would be no surprise if Joshua started the fight in relatively cautious fashion as he adjusts to his new opponent.
That combined with a run of unconvincing displays from Joshua suggests that a repeat of Wilder’s first-round knockout of Helenius is unlikely, even if a similarly explosive performance is needed to boost the confident heading into bigger and more challenging bouts.
Joshua now has another camp with Derrick James under his belt, so improvements on what he produced against Franklin are expected, and promoter Eddie Hearn has said his man is “the best I’ve seen him physically and mentally”.
Whether proof of that comes on Saturday night remains to be seen, but we’re going for Joshua to gradually break Helenius down after a cagey start to seal a first knockout win for almost three years.
Joshua to win by stoppage, round seven.
Statement: A more explosive display from Anthony Joshua is needed against Robert Helenius
/ Getty ImagesJoshua vs Helenius weigh-in results
The fighters will both take to the scales on Friday afternoon – check back in then for the results!
Joshua vs Helenius betting odds
Joshua to win: 1/18
Helenius to win: 17/2
Draw: 25/1
Joshua to win by KO or TKO: 2/9
Joshua to win by points or decision: 4/1
Helenius to win by KO or TKO: 11/1
Helenius to win by points or decision: 22/1
Odds via Betfair (subject to change).
