10 August 2023 , 17:14
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Jake Paul has praised Anthony Joshua for taking a short-notice fight against Robert Helenius.
Joshua was set to rematch Dillian Whyte this Saturday at The O2 arena but an “adverse analytical finding” in a pre-fight drugs test saw his rival forced out of the fight. After numerous opponents being rumoured for the former two-time heavyweight champion, Helenius stepped up to save the show as he looks to produce a big upset in the English capital.
Helenius is competing in his second fight in the space after appearing at a 15th century medieval castle on the same weekend that Paul beat UFC legend Nate Diaz. The YouTuber-turned-boxer will be tuning into to Joshua's upcoming fight and gave the Brit props for dealing with the last-minute opponent change.
"Respect to Anthony Joshua for keeping his fight together and ensuring all of the fighters on the undercard are taken care of," Paul tweeted. "That’s what we need more of. Fighters looking out for other fighters. I will be watching on DAZN." Joshua admitted that he felt a responsibility to keep the event together for the sake of the undercard fighters and backroom staff.
"I know how much it means for everyone on the undercard to compete, I know how hard the backroom staff work too so I didn't want to let anyone down. It's kind of like a responsibility, late replacement aren't ideal and this is about the third time it's happened. A long career will present these types of obstacles and I've just got to get used to them. This is just another rock in my shoe towards the top of the mountain," Joshua said.
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“The principle still remains the same, its worry about myself. We’ve sparred years ago but I’ve been against so many styles and the objective is always victory by any means. There is no overtime in boxing so I’ve got to be on my A-game and inflict pain to get the victory."
Joshua is looking for his second win on the bounce against Helenius after an unconvincing decision victory against Jermaine Franklin in April. The fight also marks his second bout under coach Derrick James as the pair partnered up after Joshua's second defeat to Oleksandr Usyk. A win against Helenius would likely set up a big-money fight for Joshua against Deontay Wilder, with the pair being rumoured to fight for several years.