Anthony Joshua and Robert Helenius exchange words in tense final staredown

11 August 2023 , 13:27

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Anthony Joshua and Robert Helenius exchange words in tense final staredown

Anthony Joshua and Robert Helenius exchanged words during an intense two-minute staredown before their fight.

Joshua, 33, was scheduled to rematch familiar foe Dillian Whyte at The O2 arena on Saturday, but the fight was cancelled when Whyte returned an “adverse analytical finding" in a pre-fight drug test. Several names were rumoured to replace Whyte but it was Helenius who stepped on a week’s notice to save the show.

‘AJ’ and Helenius both took to the scale on Friday afternoon at Westfield in West London with the former two-time heavyweight champion receiving a big cheer from his home crowd. Helenius was up first to the scale as he weighed in at 249.4lb with Joshua coming in just slightly heavier at 250lb even.

The final staredown between the pair then took place and smiles were quickly abandoned by both men as they locked eyes. Joshua said to his rival: "Have you got a problem with me? Either we're gonna fight now or we're gonna fight tomorrow, either way we're gonna fight."

Helenius refused to go into specifics when asked what else was said during the face-off, replying: "Nothing that important. I am here to upset." Joshua was in good spirits as he gifted crowd members with his merchandise before saying: "How's everyone doing today! I appreciate everyone coming out to the weigh-in today, tomorrow will come anyway so let's just appreciate everybody that is here."

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"It's been no problem at all," Joshua added when asked about the last-minute opponent change. "Stay professional and keep my professional head, these things happen in life so no complaining. These are the best days of my life, a little blip in my day didn't change the whole trajectory of how my training camp went.

"Stay focused and as I said, I'm happy that I'm getting a day in the ring tomorrow. I'm looking forward to it, this is my job. This is what I love doing and when I'm victorious I can't wait to get out there again as soon as possible. I've got to stay focused, I'm still in training camp mode and I've got a job to do tomorrow."

Harry Davies