The good news for Anthony Joshua: although his original opponent for Saturday, Dillian Whyte, had to drop out of their bout last week because of a positive drug test, his promoters quickly found a replacement in Robert Helenius. The bad news: the last time Joshua faced a late replacement, he got knocked out and lost his heavyweight titles. And to make matters a little more tenuous, Helenius scored the biggest win of his career when he was a massive underdog—just like he is Saturday vs. Joshua. Here’s everything you need to know about Anthony Joshua vs. Robert Helenius, including the odds, their records and a prediction on who will win.
Joshua was roundly expected to beat Whyte, but after “adverse analytical findings” were found in his drug test sample, that bout was canceled. Then, almost immediately, Helenius stepped in as the replacement.
“I am a true Viking that is willing to face any challenge at a moment’s notice,” Helenius said. “This is not an opportunity I was going to let slip away. I plan to make the most of it.”
Helenius has been a fringe heavyweight contender for most of his career, but, as a more than 6/1 underdog in 2020, he surprisingly knocked out Adam Kownacki. Nineteen months later, Helenius did it again to Kownacki, proving that if Joshua isn’t in the right state of mind on Saturday, he could suffer a career-killing setback vs. Helenius.
But if Joshua and his new trainer, Derrick James, have gelled, he could mirror the performance put forth by Deontay Wilder, who knocked out Helenius in the first round in 2022.
“There were a lot of options,” promoter Eddie Hearn said. “But we had to make sure it was the right fight for the right deal. I think Robert Helenius is a good fight. Yes, he lost to Deontay Wilder, but that was by a shot that would have probably knocked out a horse. But [Helenius] came to fight. He can really punch.”
Joshua is susceptible to a big puncher, and he doesn’t often have to face somebody taller than him. In reality, Joshua should beat Helenius and should probably stop him. But Helenius’ past performances provide intrigue.
“This wasn’t in the script,” Joshua said. “I respect Helenius . . . I am laser focused on the win. I can make steps forward to bigger and better things but the road map has a check point: Saturday night.”
Here’s more info on the Anthony Joshua vs. Robert Helenius showdown that U.S. viewers can watch on DAZN beginning at 2 p.m. ET on Saturday.
Anthony Joshua vs. Robert Helenius odds
While Joshua was somewhere in the -600 range to beat Whyte, he’s a much bigger betting favorite vs. Helenius. As of Friday afternoon, he was -1600 (bet $1,600 to win $100), while Helenius was the +900 underdog (win $900 on a $100 wager). I’d ignore both money lines, and I probably wouldn’t bother with Joshua at -400 to win by stoppage. You might even consider skipping this fight. If I were to wager, it’d probably be Joshua by stoppage between rounds 5-8 at +187, but frankly, there’s not much value there either. It might be kind of fun to bet the over on the over-under of 1.5 knockdowns in the fight (it’s +110 for the over and -150 for the under).
If you were looking for a fun parlay for this weekend’s action of boxing (and this is only for entertainment purposes), I might take Joshua to stop Helenius at -400, Oscar Valdez to beat Emanuel Navarrete at -165 and Gary Antuanne Russell to stop Kent Cruz at -350. If all those hit, you’d earn a $158 profit on a $100 wager. Honestly, that might not be worth it.
Anthony Joshua vs. Robert Helenius records
Joshua (25-3, 22 KOs) has had mixed results in the past few years. He got KO’d by Ruiz and lost twice to Oleksandr Usyk. But he also scored a victory vs. Ruiz in the rematch, and he’s proven in recent years that he can beat past-their-prime world title challengers like Kubrat Pulev and Alexander Povetkin. Helenius is 39 years old, but he’s certainly had some of his best results in recent years.
Aside from his two wins vs. Kownacki, Helenius (32-4, 21 KOs) has mostly lost to B-level or better competition, including the Wilder knockout and defeats to Dillian Whyte and Gerald Washington. Helenius, though, should be in shape. After all, he scored a win vs. the undefeated Mika Mielonen last Saturday.
Anthony Joshua vs. Robert Helenius prediction
Joshua won’t dismiss Helenius as quickly as Wilder did. In the past several years, Joshua has been much too cautious to try for the first-round knockout. But Joshua is a much better boxer than Helenius, and eventually, he’ll wear down his opponent and force the referee’s stoppage. Say Joshua with the TKO in the seventh round.