Anthony Joshua and Robert Helenius have glove dispute just hours before fight

12 August 2023 , 18:34

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Anthony Joshua and Robert Helenius have glove dispute just hours before fight

Robert Helenius was furious as he claimed one of Anthony Joshua 's gloves for their heavyweight clash tonight had inadequate padding.

Joshua was originally scheduled to rematch Dillian Whyte tonight at The O2 arena in London but the fight was cancelled when Whyte returned an "adverse analytical finding" in a pre-fight drug test. Helenius stepped up to save the show as he competes in his second fight in the space of a week having fought at a 15th century medieval castle in Finland last Saturday.

Tensions rose between Joshua and Helenius at their weigh-in and this continued backstage for their gloves meeting. "The padding is not even the same," Helenius' coach can be seen saying in footage from the gloves check captured on Matchroom Boxing 's YouTube channel. "No it's not, this is much thinner leather, don't act like that. This is harder, thicker leather, it would be a big difference. Is it even an XL glove, an extra-large glove? This doesn't feel like an XL glove."

Robert Helenius was unahppy with one of Anthony Joshua's gloves

'The Nordic Nightmare' lost his cool

Helenius then gets in on the action, adding: "Press this, it is not the same. Say what you want but this is f***ing bulls***. Disgusting bulls***. The same gloves? My a**! F***ing bulls***. I need exactly the same gloves, those were not the same gloves. Everybody knows what the f*** is going on. Everybody knows, it's f***ing bulls***."

The pair have since resolved the issue and will wear identical gloves for their fight, which takes place in a matter of hours. Joshua can secure himself a big-money fight against Deontay Wilder with a win against Helenius, who looks to pull of a huge upset in the English capital. 'AJ' has insisted he is not bothered by the last-minute opponent change as he looks to pick up his second win on the bounce.

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Who wins tonight - Anthony Joshua or Robert Helenius? Let us know your prediction in the comments section below

"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. 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," he said.

"The principle still remains the same, it's 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. As a fighter you have to stay busy and active, it's the only way to express your skill and improve."

Harry Davies