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Robert Helenius is officially now the new opponent of Anthony Joshua this weekend. The 39-year-old Helenius just won a fight a few days ago in his native Finland. That was his return bout after losing a first-round knockout against Deontay Wilder.

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A rematch is coming between former unified champion Anthony Joshua and Dillian Whyte this coming August 12 at the O2 Arena in the UK. Both fighters are rebuilding but the winner might get an eliminator or even a title shot. Whyte was KO'd by Tyson Fury last year for the WBC belt while AJ has a back-to-back defeat at the hands of unified champion Oleksandr Usyk.    

AJ will remain a favorite in this fight but we better not count out Whyte. AJ is a completely changed fighter which is something Whyte can capitalize on. If AJ continues to try to box, not letting his hands go and Whyte is well-conditioned conditioned for a full fight then it will be a very exciting one. AJ might also get his confidence back knowing he already TKO'd Whyte when both of them are still unbeaten.

Obviously, DAZN wants to resurrect Joshua's career, if you suffer from two successive losses from championships and you have been beaten decisively you need a guy you have previously beaten to bring back your motivation to get back on the road again.
Joshua's career is on its way to oblivion if he losses this match, there is no fourth chance anymore Whyte can spoil Joshua's much-needed comeback.
Boxing fans whether they are fans or they are not fans of both boxers will have an interest in this fight because its a battle of who will stay and who will go.

This is a good opportunity for Dillian Whyte, as Anthony Joshua has already experienced losses in his career, and he may not be the same fighter he was when he was undefeated. While Dillian Whyte may still be considered the underdog, I am willing to take chances and perhaps even bet on him to level the rivalry. It's possible that we may witness a trilogy for this fight.

Dillian Whyte should have retired and yet here he is fighting Joshua because Joshua's manager Hearns thinks Whyte is a fighter, worth fighting for a rebound because Joshua has already beaten him, people think this is not the kind of fight worth in a PPV because both fighters do have the same reputation they once held.

For me, this is a good fight to watch, a match where both fighters struggle to get back on top is worth watching, retirement is looming on both fighters whoever loses here that's the end of the line for him, I just feel sorry for Joshua he still young and if he losses here he may not see a Fury or a Wilder fight that we hoped happen a few years ago.

Here are some of the important information  (https://www.bettingodds.com/news/anthony-joshua-dillian-whyte-2-odds-date-venue-how-to-watch#:~:text=Anthony%20Joshua%20is%2010%2F1,in%20his%20last%20four%20fights.)we need to know about the fight.


Very affordable for a PPV price. Though the betting odds are not yet out, I'm expecting that Anthony Joshu would be the heavy favorite since he is the younger boxer and had accomplish more compared to Dillian Whyte who are supposed to retire according to one of our posters here.

They are worth watching but people are probably right as well about not worth PPV. Fans are cruel. After a few losses, fans will just look at them as just big blokes.
Looks like an exhibition fight but they are reviving the old quarrel between the two, while there are no other boxers stepping up after all they did not retire yet.

AJmight still win for the second time. It's just nothing else after that unless Usyk will still give him another fight.  It will not be surprising if both announce their retirement after the fight.

Both fighters are good this is worthy to watch as we all known that both fighter will give us a good and cleaned fight. About this matchup even though they have a good advantages in different aspects then one thing for sure only one will survive. Maybe the hungry one or the revenge one. Because this is their second fight which is we are all known that the underdog will want to prove who he is.

There will be more pressure now on Anthony Joshua to win the fight since his fight with Deontay Wilder, the fight we have all wanted to see will happen in December if Anthony Joshua is able to defeat Dillian Whyte, but if he does not win the fight, then the fight with Wilder will not happen. Anthony Joshua knows how dangerous Whyte can be, but he wanted something challenging before agreeing to this fight, so he will be prepared to give it his best and win it like he did before, if not by KO, by Unanimous decision.

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https://talksport.com/sport/boxing/1490745/anthony-joshua-deontay-wilder-locked-in-dillian-whyte/

Yes, they wanted to, Joshua needs another win to bring back his confidence, so they need to cherry pick again so that he will be on track after that 2 losses he got from Usyk.

Although in paper this fight looks good to me, but Dillian Whyte is like a good 4-5 rounder fighter. After that, he get's tired easy and that's where Joshua can get him and maybe score a knockout. Very wise move by Eddie Hearn here. So let's see if Whyte will be a willing participant here or he will just spoil Joshua and his future fight with Wilder.

There could be pressure, but he has defeated Whyte soundly before, so he might be thinking that this could be just another easy fight for him. But AJ should be careful as well not to overlook Whyte here, I think he still possesses that one punch knockout and AJ should try to avoid that right hand of Whyte otherwise he might see flashes of Ruiz fight again and then he will just be knockout or knockdown in the canvass.

But I still see AJ winning here, either by decision if the fight goes on the full 12 rounds and AJ having a hard time to knock Whyte out. Or AJ finding his rhythm and power once again and scoring a big KO.

Yes, I put up this fight on the other thread, Boxing Speculation, Odds and Predictions. (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5370631.msg62513359#msg62513359)

But it's good that we have a separate thread for discussion. I think Anthony Joshua is still going to beat Whyte in their rematch. Although we have seen Joshua's career going into the pipe right now with losses to Usyk and then his issues on getting a trainer, I think this fight could be just as what everyone is expecting, cherry pick and tune up fight for a big pay day fight coming in against Wilder.

So he shouldn't underestimate Whyte but then focus more on his offense and power because he will need it when he face Wilder in Saudi Arabia next. Joshua needs to be more technical here and throw his upper cut more because that is Whyte's weakness.

for sure, a lot will be rooting for joshua here. but as you said, he should not underestimate whyte as for sure, he wants to win this fight as well and may come well-prepared for this re-match. joshua is also highly favourite by bookies, no doubt. so don't know if whyte can have his sweet revenge on this match.
and we will see if this one is indeed is just a cherry pick for joshua. sometimes surprising results can happen so joshua's camp should take this seriously.

Yup, Anthony Joshua would still be the favorite here, the only thing that we have to discuss here is whether Whyte would survive the full twelve rounds as he was KOed by Joshua on their first meeting.

The thing here is that Joshua beat Whyte when the former was not beaten yet, I mean his confidence was still very high at that time but for me, at the present moment, it seems that Joshua's confidence is fading after that loss to Ruiz, that makes this fight interesting. Hearn wants to test Joshua before giving him a fight with Wilder.

I know of how hard or easy it will be for  Anthony Joshua to KO Whyte in this match because i believe this is a rematch and a chance for whyte to right his wring with also capitalizing on the changes Anthony Joshua I've got now and I also though I was the only one who  noticed the changes with Anthony Joshua but regardless  of this, I don't think Anthony  will be willing to leave any stone unturned as he might still want to maintain his name.
I've been a great fan of Anthony  Joshua  but I don't think this match would be an easy one for either of them and if Anthony isn't careful and take this match gently,  then he shouldn't be surprised  if he losses to Whyte.

Joshua is the big favorite here but Dillian has nothing to lose and to protect if he goes all out here and tries to take everything away from Joshua, Joshua is on the climb to get back in title contention and this could be the fight that
can bring back his reputation if he knocks out Whyte the way he did in their first meeting.

But this is not the same Joshua anymore he is not the same aggressive and dominant fighter years ago when he held the undisputed title, obviously his camp wants him to get back on the right track slowly, there's a potential Wilder fight that they can go to but unfortunately his camp wants an easy way up and Dillian is their way to the top, Dillian could be the spoiler here I cannot imagine the scenario if Whyte beat Joshua and avenge his loss, we can forget the Wilder - Joshua or the Joshua - Fury.

A rematch that was not really necessary due to Joshua winning the first match by knockout but it should still serve as a good tuneup for him if he is indeed going to be fighting Deontay Wilder in December. Whyte, despite not being world class anymore, is still a dangerous fighter with respectable power. AJ can't afford to take him lightly. He needs to make a statement to prove he can still compete with the best heavyweights.

Yes, they are looking for a good dance partner for Anthony Joshua, and just like you said, instead of directly going to Wilder in December, he might as well go for a tune up first. Just like what Ryan has supposed to do before the Tank fight, but he opted out of a tune up and then badly beaten. I think Wilder though will go to Andy Ruiz if I'm not mistaken.

Anyhow, I think it might end the same way as the first fight. And then Joshua very happy as he might think that he is back on track. But I think the Bronze Bomber will knockout Anthony Joshua if they face each other in the Middle East before the end of the year.

Anthony Joshua won in game one which is pretty good to him as we all know that once a fighter win the fight then all he need is to add more agility and techniques in order to maintain the momentum and have a big chance of winning. But dillian whyte will prove to us that he has a good strategy and techniques to counter Anthony Joshua, this rematch is very worthy to watch so let's seatback and relax.

Whyte already lost in their first fight, and as I comment in the other thread, he might not be in his prime already. So this is just a set up fight for AJ to look good in reference to a potential fight with Wilder in December as others say.

I'm not seeing a trilogy though, it's good to see Dillian Whyte fight again, but this is just for the money and Hearn just gave him the opportunity to have another fight and obviously a paycheck to be the opponent for a get busy fight for AJ.

This is an important wrestle to bolster Anthony Joshua's psyche and performance at the moment, as he needs all assistance he can get, potentially even at the top of the rankings. Anthony Joshua is the character, he's a competitive fighter who is constantly concerned about winning, but with his recent performance, he's recorded defeats over his opponents, so I'm guessing he still needs more time to get back on track. Dilian Whyte, on the other hand, is always ready to meet the Nigerian in the ring, and this time I believe he can match up draw points with him.

Both of these fighters are facing the sunset of their careers. Unlike many others who voted in the poll, I don't see a knockout, neither from Whyte II nor from Joshua.

Joshua is not anymore the shining star in boxing that he used to be. If this is a fight arranged for his comeback, to somehow condition him to face Wilder next, Whyte II is probably the wrong opponent. Supposing Joshua survives Dillian and faces Wilder come December, he will probably be surprised at how huge and more powerful Wilder is that he'll realize Dillian didn't actually prepare him for it.

His first lost to Andy Ruiz really lost all the invincibility on AJ here, but before that, he was beating everything. And then the lost, he was not the same anymore, although he avenge it, but his fighting style was very different. And then his two fights against Usyk really exposes him.

But it I'm going to pick as who is more on the sunset of their careers, I think it will be Whyte though. He might just rely on a one punch knockout here. He could be looking all day for that to score against AJ and that is the only chance he could win in this fight.

Joshua has a big burden in his head and that is

Eddie Hearn admits Anthony Joshua will lose proposed mega-fight with Deontay Wilder - and a £60MILLION payday - if he fails to beat Dillian Whyte next month (https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/boxing/article-12277735/Eddie-Hearn-admits-Anthony-Joshua-miss-60MILLION-Wilder-fight-loses-Whyte.html)

If we all remember Joshua in his first fight in the US should have fought Baby Miller until a huge issue with Miller came out so Hearns got Andy Ruiz as the replacement and the rest is history, he not only lose all his titles to Ruiz but he loses a mega fight with the then WBC champion Wilder, and hopefully history will not repeat here, Dillian last fight is against Fury, he did announce that was his last fight, but this is a fight that hard to decline he could be the spoiler and could eventually the one fighting Wilder.

There was a story that promoters don't want him to fight Whyte and they all want to just go straight to the Wilder fight but Joshua wants to have a fight with Whyte before going against Wilder, this is a very risky fight for Joshua and this could end his career.

the worst mistake of a fighter is when he goes back to fight the guy who defeated him, that's because most of the time when the fighter is undefeated and loses to someone, the tendency is to want revenge, but he starts to let his emotions affect him, even if he is a professional fighter, even if he has won other fights after the defeat, still when he faces the fighter who beat him he starts to get carried away by anger and I lose focus, in my opinion in the case of this fight I will wait for the days of the fight are approaching so I can have an idea of who can win the fight, and it's true that many years have passed since the two fought

and many things have changed, but the central problem is that even though many years have passed and a lot has changed in terms of the fighters' achievements, this fight is about emotions, both fighters will have emotions when fighting and that could hinder the loser of the last fight, so I'll wait until the days of the fight get closer to see what I'm going to bet on

I wouldn't say it's going to be a burden though, if anything here, it should motivate him to finished and win the fight against Whyte so that him and Wilder can face each other this December or maybe early next year for one of the biggest purse, so big paycheck for both of them.

He should learn from his past mistakes, although he has been a very different boxer after he lost to Ruiz in the first fight that you mentioned. It's all going to be psychological for Joshua against Whyte. Maybe what he can think of is that he already beat Dillian the first time so he can do it again and not underestimating because if could derail him fight against Wilder.

True, a rematch means there are psychological effects. In the past, there are a lot of rematches that happened. I remember when Oscar De La Hoya lost a very close fight to Sugar Shane Mosley at 147 but later became a unified champion at 154. He then challenged Mosley in a rematch with intentions of avenging his previous questionable defeat. Mosley before the fight lost 2 and a draw in his last 3 fights which further hyped the odds for a De La Hoya victory. But when the sound of the bell began, Mosley looked like a fresh confident fighter, and De La Hoya failed to dominate. In the end, all of De La Hoya's belts were taken by Mosley after securing another close but unanimous victory.

I believe AJ is still battling with his emotions after suffering 3 defeats. It will be interesting how his approach in this fight knowing he already stopped Whyte before but at the same time, he knows that he is also vulnerable especially if Whyte goes beast mode. Whyte has nothing to lose already, he should train hard and work on his stamina so he can attack AJ, or else it will be AJ attacking him.

Its a motivation but more of a burden, I have seen boxers taking what seems to be a fight preparation for a much bigger paycheck only to lose decisively or by upsets like Tyson to Douglas and Tommy Morisson to Michael Bent both Tyson and Morisson got knocked out for what experts expect should be an easy fight for these two heavy favorites.

Of course Joshua is the favorite here but Whyte could be a serious spoiler, what he has got to lose, against a guy who could potentially lose everything, I'm sure Joshua is thinking of those scenarios and he's hoping to win decisively and I'm sure Wilder is also hoping, both Wilder and Joshua want and need each other for a huge comeback of their respective career.

Yes, if ever he will lost to a fighter that he already defeated, then something must be wrong with his mentality and he can't get over the 2 losses he got from the hands of Usyk. And that's what it is said that he should take first a tune up fight before getting into Usyk in a rematch. But we all know what happen, he tried his best but Usyk has more heart than him.

So this is a good set up fight for AJ and hopefully he will removed that from his mind and focus on Dillian Whyte and win the fight and bring back what pride he has before his 3 losses.

As far as the odds goes, it seems that Joshua is a huge favorite here, ML 1.15 Whyte at 4.70. And then the Over/Under round is 9.5.

So great odds so far specially the Over/Under. However, if we are talking about upsets, then it's possible if Joshua is going to underestimate Whyte or not training hard and not taking his opponent seriously as in the case of Tyson vs Douglas. Perhaps it was the same case with Morrison against Michael Bentt, sad thing is that Morrison was winning the fight until he was hit with a right, it could be just a lucky shot, but Bentt win the fight in 2 rounds. So Joshua here shouldn't overlook Whyte and not get ahead of his supposedly fight with Wilder next.

A tough game to predict, the chances are important in this circumstance, but while the current odds favor Anthony Joshua, that doesn't mean he has a 100% chance of winning. It's an extremely difficult game, but I verdict the triumph to Anthony Joshua, who has been in the space for a long time and understands the points to strike during the fight, as does Dillian Whyte. Both boxers should provide their best effort in the ring. Anthony Joshua weighs more than Dilian Whyte, and there's a chance the Nigerian fighter would underestimate his opponents in the ring.

On paper, Joshua appears to have the advantage against Dillian Whyte, who is already nearing retirement. I mean no disrespect, as he is only 36 years old, but he hasn't been getting significant fights lately. However, his bout with Joshua can be considered a big fight since Joshua remains popular despite losing his undefeated record. Let's see who will come out on top, but I have a feeling the younger fighter will prevail.

That's right and it could be some kind of training that he can get to practice before facing Wilder no matter how you look at it, we know that Wilder has the advantage when they gonna face each other in the ring. In this fight, Joshua is expected to win and will once again dominate Whyte due to his advanced skills and experience compared to Whyte he already proved that in their first fight and it would be fairer to think that Joshua has been improving his skills preparing for some worthy opponent and Whyte right now is just a small fawn compared to others.

Both Wilder and Joshua were former champions who were dethroned, and now they will be fighting to determine who is the best between them. This fight is sure to entertain the crowd, even though it's not a championship bout. In his last fight on October 15, 2022, Wilder scored a knockout victory against Robert Helenius. Considering their styles and the fact that both fighters don't move around much, I would lean towards Wilder due to his more powerful punches.

For the highly anticipated fight between Wilder and Joshua not to be spoiled, Joshua needs to defeat Whyte.

Actually, whoever lost the bout between the two retires from boxing early because he will no longer need to maintain his level of fitness for his profession and won't have any reason to fight for the WBC title again. Because there is so much on the line (win and you might have a chance to compete for boxing titles. lose and your career is over), the fight between the two will be tense and exciting.

Anthony Joshua always makes it clear that he wants to fight Tyson Fury at least once before calling it a day on his boxing career, so I believe he will do everything in his power to defeat Dillian Whyte on points.
August 12 will be the time for him to show the world that is not yet over for him after losing back-to-back defeats to Oleksandr Usyk.

It is all business even though the rematch does not worth it, the promoter probably thinks that this fight will give AJ more boost and as you said a tune up fight for the next opponent.  I wonder if after this fight AJ will meet Fury after this fight since Dillian Whyte  was previously beaten by Tyson Fury.  As far as I can recall, AJ had beaten Dillian Whyte 7 or 8 years ago by 7th round stoppage and still I think Whyte can't beat AJ after those years.


So it was Wilder first then Fury later if ever AJ beats Wilder?  I think it is more convenience for AJ to head on straight and fight Fury.

AJ would be lucky to beat Wilder. We have to remind him that only Fury had defeated Wilder and prior to his defeat, he was the best in the heavyweight with a high KO rate, so I would be surprised if AJ would beat Wilder because I think the other way around would occur.

I think Joshua will win via KO because Whyte had suffer three losses and all of them were KO'ed.

Joshua is still strong despite his last match he only won via decision, but I think Whyte don't have a strong chin, he only have a good power.

If Joshua can win via KO, he should be straight and fight Fury. Wilder had loss 2 times against Fury, so it's the time to prove which one will win Joshua vs Fury,

This is exactly the reason i was thinking when i saw this thread, the promoters of Anthony Joshua wanted him to be confident enough after the losses so that they can book other high profile fights but the funny aspect will be, what happens if Anthony Joshua gets knocked out cold by Dillian Whyte because he is more than capable of doing that :D.

Lol, even at the press conference, Dillian Whyte ask Eddie Hearn what's the taste of Joshua's ball. Because obviously, Hearn is still on Joshua's bandwagon and wanted to resurrect his career because admit it or not,  he is not longer in his prime with back to back loses to Usyk.

It could have been great if Hearn would answer "salty",  :D.

But he says that Whyte will have to find it out during their fight.

Lol. If Whyte really said that, then he is a funny guy. I wonder if he talks like that, when everyone knows that he will get KOed by AJ. There is a chance that AJ is still mentally flying somewhere, then there is a chance for Dillian.
Is AJ good today? His victory against Franklin was not impressive. He should KO such opponents, instead the fight went full distance.

AJ could be good, depends on his opponents,

I try to look for that press conference video if indeed as what someone posted was true:->https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cra4YVxInmE

Go to 2:38 and see what's their conversion is all about. Not sure if Dillian just wanted to be funny because you can see the reaction of both Joshua and Eddie and the media around.

Anthony Joshua needs to win this fight to meet Deontay Wilder which will be a new down in his challenged career but Dillian Whyte can spoil his day. Derek Chisora who was knocked out by Whyte in 2018 is predicting that although Joshua will find it difficult to win the fight but he would eventually will the match. He is predicting that Joshua will have a slow start but he will gradually improve in the game. One of the reasons he gave for Joshua's difficulty is the long flight from his training ground in Texas to Vegas before taking another eight hours flight to London. Chisora said that the long flights will make him tired which will be an advantage to Dillian Whyte who is training in Florida.

source (https://boxing-social.com/news/chisora-predicts-anthony-joshua-whyte-ko/)

I guess this fight doesn't need to last long. Typically, in heavyweight fights, the match often ends early due to their knockout power and the potential fatigue that comes with their size as the rounds progress. However, if the fight were to last longer, I believe the advantage would be with the younger boxer, which in this case would be AJ.

Joshua can't probably repeat what happened when they first met in the ring. If they had a rematch shortly after their first match, Joshua could have easily won it. But since this is 8 years later and Joshua has already suffered the effects of his first loss and also his back-to-back losses against Usyk, he will not be the same very confident guy. This is more of Dillian's bigger chance for a revenge. If Joshua wins, it will probably be a close UD.

Joshua is likely not the same fighter he was when he was undefeated and a champion. Therefore, I honestly believe there's a good chance that Whyte will be able to level the playing field in the rematch. This would make for a more intriguing anticipation, and we might even see a trilogy of fights between them. If AJ were to lose, it would be unlikely for him to pursue a fight with Wilder.

I agree with you but we will find out after this fight. Looks like this fight has become more popular than a real championship fight, and as we can see this one " Zhang Vs Joyce II WBO Interim World Heavyweight Championship" (https://bitcointalk.org/index.php?topic=5457943.0), does not gain more attention than this thread that was created earlier.

Anyway, as per betting polls, "Anthony Joshua KO" still has more votes, so it's pretty obvious that Anthony Joshua is the crowd favorite.

Come on Derek Vaseline! :D AJ and his team will fly back to the UK earlier as they do not want their fighter jet-lagged during fight night. But AJ is still a changed fighter and will hesitate to engage right away. AJ and his team knew that Whyte is known to fatigue in the late rounds so they will try to box and fight smart and will only go for the kill when the opportunity arises. But I do hope that Whyte is fully conditioned and has enough gas to go to war for 12 rounds if necessary. Because this is the only way he can win.

I wonder if Wilder is really next but it will be a very interesting fight. It would've been bigger than Fury-Wilder when they were both champions and undefeated and for the undisputed. Still, better late than never. But we'll see if they are really going to face each other next. The WBC already mandated Wilder and Ruiz for the final eliminator which means the winner will face Tyson Fury which is not really cool if we see another Fury-Wilder.   

Probably it's going to happen Joshua's promoter has been entertaining this fight but Joshua wants to regain his confidence so he opted to fight Whyte instead, so if he wins against Whyte and Wilder wins against Ruiz they will face each other, it's not good to see another Fury and Wilder fight, I prefer the Wilder Usyk match the heavyweight division has a lot of great fights coming and there's a lot of new faces and familiar faces coming for the title, expect exciting fights in the heavyweight division.

We can't really say that because AJ is coming from losses to Usyk. While Dillian could have been in the sunset of his career. Although it has the potential to end in a knockout. But AJ should have the upper hand in as this looks like a tune up fight.

Because we have heard that after this, it will be Wilder in Saudi Arabia. So he better prepare hard on this fight and if he wanted to impress us, then go for knockout. If not, at least dominate Whyte in full 12 rounds and we can say that he has move on already and no longer affected mentally by the Usyk losses.

I don't know if a trilogy is necessary or whether it will happen if Dillian will win this fight. I think it will just be a revenge on the part of Whyte II and Joshua's 3-1 record for the past two years would make him less and less of a valuable opponent. The loser of Zhang vs Joyce II match could be next. Or if Deontay will be fighting Ruiz Jr. next, it is possible Joshua will face the loser. If it's Ruiz who will lose, which is more likely, then it's possible to have a different trilogy.

Perhaps it was just the circumstances that Dillian Whyte was given another crack of Joshua here. As others have said, it's a faded version of Joshua now but Eddie Hearn needs to find a opponent that can bring back Joshua's confident so Dillian Whyte is a perfect fit for it. Maybe a trilogy can happen, or maybe if Joshua losses here then there's no more Wilder for him in the horizon or even Tyson Fury and it could be over for him. Or least he is now considered just a B-level fighter and just looking for payday before he retires.

It would be a good test for AJ and therefore he needs to win this fight so his name will come out again and people will talk about him. He isn't a champion now so it will not be easy for him to demand a bigger purse, but the moment he earn another championship fight and he could reclaim himself, then maybe he has a shot to be back at the top again.  Slowly but surely and it should start by winning this fight.

I have the feeling that Wilder is also yet recovering mentally from his back-to-back brutal losses to Tyson Fury. Though he might have won a first-round KO in his return bout against Helenius, he was the one running backward instead of the other way around. If not for that huge counter, Helenius would've been able to do some damage on Wilder. The Ruiz fight will determine if Wilder is really back to his usual confidence when he was undefeated. And if Wilder wins, he also needs to decide if he goes for AJ or he will rematch Fury for the fourth time.

There are a lot of good fights to happen in this division with Usyk-Fury for the undisputed belts as the biggest. Usyk after Dubois might also get another mandatory from the IBF against the undefeated Filip Hrgovic and the WBO if Joe Joyce wins his rematch against Zhang. Only a unification fight with Fury will excuse Usyk from his mandatories.

Whyte is someone who can bring back Joshua in contention or could possibly bring him to retirement so Joshua better be at his best Whyte can still deliver a big surprise, if ever he beats Joshua there could be a trilogy but Joshua will be out of contention and it's going to be a hard climb we have many faces in the heavyweight division that wants to have a crack on the titles held by Fury and Usyk and a loss from Whyte will shut him out, Dubois, Zhang, and Joyce are those up and coming names.

And maybe bring the best of Joshua as well? Because they have fought already and Joshua win via knockout on the 7th round.

So there might be a big possibility that Joshua is thinking the same, and it he can do that definitely his confidence is back. Yes, they are still in the top echelon of the HW right now. But there are a lot of incoming boxers as well.

Don't forget about Andy Ruiz, he is still very much active and we all know that he dealt Joshua his first lost. Him and Wilder are supposed to fight, but not sure what happens behind the negotiation.

it's not in AJ's interest anymore to fight Wilder. he isn't what he was anymore after Ruiz fight. he will be a good training match for Ngannou if he likes but he will retire win or lose against Whyte.  there are great undercard fights though like Mckean and Fisher. it should be a good prospect to bet on.

I am expecting another KO win by Johnny Fisher. The main supporting event is what made me curious. I say a lot of guts there by Demsey McKean for taking the fight and many fans are even believing that he can pull a win over The Animal. Props to him for taking this fight but I really doubt there is anyone in boxing right now that can beat Filip especially when he is at his best, except Usyk and Fury which I believe are all 50/50 fights if the bouts are in neutral places. If McKean will be allowed by the referee to bring his dirty tactics, he may survive and bring the fight to a decision but if the referee will make the fight clean, Hrgovic should easily destroy him or put a boxing clinic.

But if I'm not mistaken, he still wanted to fight Wilder after this one. And that is why others say that this is just a tune up fight for him because there is something being cooked maybe in December or early next year for Joshua vs Wilder and then Fury vs Usyk.

All of them have fights already in the horizon, although Wilder and Ruiz Jr is not yet set up or in the process of negotiation. So there is a big possibility that this HW fights might be setup by Eddie Hearn later.

I think this anticipated match is going to be very interesting and since it would be held in the UK at the O2 arena it's going to entertaining a lot of fans around the world, I wish I would be opportuned to view it live at the stadium, however it's going to be a tough one for both AJ and whyte both has suffered great loses and would want to prove themselves again, and many would stake on AJ because he's the fan favourite and they feel he'll want to use this opportunity to get back to glory days after being defeated twice by Usyk.

 Of course it's not right to count out Whyte because he could try to capitalise of Joshua's loses against Usky which caused him some emotional breakdown and also try to revenge his defeat in Dec 12, 2015 when he was TKO'd by Joshua but after a comeback win against Jeramin Franklin this April I think Joshua is fully fit and ready to go back to the glory days and only time will tell if we should expect another TKO by Anthony Joshua.

They have fought twice already with amature and pro matches, and both of them are knockout experts. As we all know, these two came from a loss on their previous fight but that won't be the bottomline. Both fighters have known each other and their fighting styles which for sure could be the factor to come whoever wins this match. A 2-2 and a 3-3 on there previous matches while they're 1:1 on their previous two fights making this match the tie breaker. I'd be betting that Whyte is more eager to pull this one up. He's a more experienced fighter over Joshua. However, I won't underestimate Joshua's KO rate which should be a threat to white. Will definitely be exciting to watch.

Definitely, AJ has more KO wins than Dillian Whyte, but the latter has more overall wins compared to AJ. It's just that AJ is more popular than Dillian Whyte, so it's understandable why the majority of the fans believe AJ will win.

As for their KO records from BoxRec, Dillian Whyte is 19/29, while AJ is 22/25, so it's very obvious that AJ has an edge.

They have gone to a lot after their first meeting, Joshua back then was so great and on top of the world he commanded respect and people thought he was invincible until that 3 losses, those losses exposed him, and because of this Dillian Whyte will take this opportunity to put all these demons in Joshua mind, Whyte knows that Joshua wants this fight and he is here to spoil everything, he knows that Joshua will try to put up a great fight so he can challenge Fury and Wilder for a big fight.

Anthony Joshua is really in a good shape and frame of mind ahead of this fight, the fact that he has a new trainer is really helping him into the right shape and frame of mind for the fight. Anthony may not be able to be his best like we saw in his prime, but he can fight better than he did in his last three fights. And for the same reasons that he knows how important this fight is, he will take it seriously and not give Dillian any chance to stop him from his target of getting through to the next fight against Fury.

That's always been the case for Joshua after his first lost to Ruiz and Usyk. In the second Usyk fight, he get the services of American trainer Robert Garcia, but still, he failed to win against Usyk and he had a break down after the fight.

So this is very important for him, although he did get a new trainer, but still as the first round starts, it will be just him and Dillian Whyte. And it's going to be more mental for Joshua here rather than physical. He might be in the best shape of his life, but if his minds has started to doubt that he can win, then it won't help him here, IMHO.

It's his own self who is going to be his enemy if he hasn't moved on yet from his defeats in big fights. Unlike Whyte, who isn't too popular, so he doesn't have much to lose. This fight is going to be a stepping stone for both boxers to make their names popular again. The winner here might be given an opportunity to slowly climb the ladder until that championship fight comes again.

The breakdown is so hard to see for Joshua's fans and camps but it is what it was it's a hard climb for Joshua but he is very prone to a breakdown he easily gives out when faced with a good adversary we first saw this in the Ruiz Jr fight he spits his mouthpiece and failed to answer when asked if he wants to continue after getting a knockdown, and on Usyk fight he became passive when Usyk was attacking him, I'm sure we will see a little bit of that trace when Whyte shows no respect to him in their coming match.

True, but against Whyte who he has been beaten already and perhaps already decline as he is not that active, maybe the camp of AJ thinks that he is a good boxer to have a tune up fight.

But I do agree, he has been exposed as having a weak mentality that when he face a superior boxer, he doesn't know what to do. When he thought that he can beat Ruiz Jr in the first time, suddenly it as a game changer for him. Because after that, AJ become a different boxer and started to be cautious in the beginning and no longer the aggressive boxer that once he was. As if he is afraid to exchange with his opponents.

https://www.talkimg.com/images/2023/07/26/QENVw.png

Ryan Garcia posted a picture of him, Anthony Joshua, Errol Spence, and their coach. Anthony Joshua seems happy and this is important for him to regain his confidence. Not sure if undisputed 154 champion Jermell Charlo started his training yet but it would've added more motivation for AJ to train harder. And there's also 3-belt holder Errol Spence grinding hard for his undisputed fight against Bud Crawford. A win for Spence this coming weekend would surely make AJ more empowered. But a loss, especially if Bud will clearly dominate the fight would make AJ think about Jamal's effectiveness and questions himself if he is training the right way.

AJ better change his mindset; he should not view it as just a tune-up fight but consider it a big challenge, so he can give his best. AJ isn't the same boxer as he was, and every opponent he faces will believe they can beat him, especially after his defeat. AJ still has more fights to come, and what he needs to ensure is that he starts winning and shows consistency. Although he isn't a champion now, who knows, he may get a chance to face Fury in the future.

Yes he is still young and he is still ok but a boxer is only as good as his last fight two championship losses are not good and a climb to the top again is not easy and if you are faced with losses while climbing to the top, then you are on your way out.

Whyte is his ticket to the top again but I doubt if he can regain his old glory, Usyk is doing great Fury and Wilder are also doing great, he needs to finish his business and that is to fight Fury and Wilder, beat them both and all his past failures will vanish and he will leave a great legacy, but the biggest question is can he do it.

Old glory is nothing but memories. Well it is a good thing that Whyte still is being celebrated for his potential, but 35 is not really all that young to be considered "full of potential" anymore. Especially in boxing, a sport in which the retirement age starts at 36-39. At his age he should have already shown his peak techniques as well as peak body vitality. So there is a chance that things will play out fine for Whyte in his future fights, but I think he will not be making much progress, judging from the comparison of his past fights, that chance seems low.

Although who knows, I have been pleasantly surprised before...

AJ is not someone who is going to have an easy time either but he is clearly the top contender. And he has a couple of good years to go on.

Very well said, in his last 2 fights, he was against a tough opponent in Usyk, world class technical boxer and as much as Joshua wanted to win and he has a big heart, Usyk has the tools and mentality to over come him as well.


Maybe bring back his confidence to win or even score a knockout against a old Dillian Whyte. But he still needs to be very careful from that one shot that might change the fight in favor of Dillian. So he shouldn't be overconfident and not to estimate Whyte here. And so if he wins, definitely, he can regain some of his pride. But against a top tier fighter in Fury or Wilder, it could be very different fight for Joshua.

It's all in the mind now for AJ if he see flashes of the Ruiz fight in his mind in this fight. And we will see how Derrick James can motivate him in this fight. As @inthelongrun, he is training with a lot of great boxers as well. So hopefully, he will be extra motivated to train very hard in the same gym, sweating it out with the likes of Ryan Garcia and Errol Spence Jr.

So it's a mental game going forward for AJ, he should go back to his old style. And not be hesitant and let his hands go if needed. Because after the his first lost to Ruiz Jr., for sure majority of us has notice that AJ doesn't want to pull the trigger, and unsure without to punch 1-2 or just go chase the opponent in the ring without throwing any power punch.

Definitely, that's the weakness I have seen in him now because he was once a champion, and now he has plenty of losses already. When the problem is mental, it's not hard to rise up from that since what your mind says, the body will follow. However, there's good news because AJ has won his previous fight, so maybe he has slowly recovered a bit from his losing experience. Now, he's facing a fighter he has beaten before, and I'm sure he knows how to do it again.

I have a feeling that AJ goes for the offensive against Whyte right in the very first round. So it is either he hits Whyte and gets a stoppage or his offense will stop once Whyte starts to connect as well. Once Whyte will connect his own punches and AJ feels it hard, AJ's mindset will change and his confidence will go down and will shift into boxing trying to outbox Whyte. I do think Whyte will run out of gas and will slow down in the later rounds so AJ can take advantage either by knockout or by outboxing him.

On the other hand, Eddie Hearn opened up his 3-fight plan for AJ provided he keeps on winning.
https://www.talkimg.com/images/2023/07/28/QLaa3.png

AJ has to be careful as he has been knocked down before, so he isn't as durable as he thought. Maybe he will have huge confidence since this is a rematch, and he has already beaten Whyte before, so he has already won the mind game. As long as he follows the game plan well, I'm sure he'll have an edge in winning this fight. It's not necessary to KO Whyte; what's more important is that he wins impressively, as a positive outcome of this fight could open up another championship opportunity for him.

If he could surpass Whyte, I doubt he could pass the next level which is against Wilder.

^^ Yes, I think it's a good plan money wise for Eddie and Joshua as well. Having to fight Dillian Whyte here, bring back Joshua mind and his confidence and then look for Wilder which we have been waiting for many years, when they were still has no defeats in their record and when the Gypsy King is not yet making a comeback. But everything has change now, Fury comes back, takes all the glory beat Wilder and then Joshua losing to Ruiz and it's the start of his being reluctant to pull the trigger. But at least he can still make a lot of money and maybe this 3 HW's can smell the Saudi money, LOL. Perhaps we are talking here about minimum $50M-$100M waiting for them if they all make a fight in Saudi whether as undercard or facing each other. (Fury vs Usyk, Wilder vs Joshua in same card).

AJ's confidence will be boosted by a lot of Spence wins this weekend over Crawford but I also think he will lose some of his confidence if his stablemate losses a beatdown. Still, he should be able to overcome Whyte who's slower and is known to fatigue in the late rounds.

I have a feeling that Wilder might be in the same mental situation as AJ. In Wilder's last fight, he was backing down and was the one getting hunted which means he was scared of getting KO'd again. Heleneus is old and slow and was countered but I can imagine if it was someone quicker and mobile, Wilder might get sparked if he can't land first. Nonetheless, that win might also bring back much of Wilder's confidence.


That would've been a huge super fight between undefeated champions for the undisputed championship. But Wilder later admitted that he chickened out even if the offer from Matchroom and DAZN was already so huge and there's also the rematch clause which happens in the US if the first match happens in the UK. Wilder is always known to duck fighters and was even holding the undisputed championship hostage many times because his team was unwilling to unify with former lineal 3-belt champion Wladimir Klitschko citing the Bronze Bomber is not yet ready for the Ukrainian.

That would have been a great treat for the fans. This country is really willing to spend a lot of money just to bring in good fighters. All these fighters were champions; I mean AJ and Wilder were previous champs before they lost to Usyk and Fury, respectively. However, since they are still active until now, that gives us a chance to witness the fight that we have been hoping for.

Usyk vs Fury is a good championship fight, but Fury has the edge here. I'm predicting he'll be listed as the heavy favorite. On the other hand, Wilder vs AJ should be a close contest, but I'm seeing Wilder being set up as a slight favorite by the bookies.

I read that Eddie Hearn wanted to put that fight in Saudi Arabia and they are willing to pay for that fight whatever the cost it.

So Joshua really need this one badly if he wants to continue with his career, or at least get a good pay check next, whether Wilder or Fury for all British Showdown. So everything hangs on this fight. And if by chance he is upset by Whyte, not sure how he can bounce back and he might say good bye to that $100 million that Eddie Hearn might be whispering in his ears.

So now that Jamal James' best fighter was badly outclassed and was battered from pillar to post, I am pretty sure it has some mental effects on Anthony Joshua who is battling the mental effects of his previous defeats. He might start to doubt James' game plan and effectiveness. Luckily for him, he is facing a fighter whom he had already beaten by stoppage and is known to fatigue in the late rounds. After Spence's failed aggressive strategy by getting countered a lot, I won't be surprised if AJ will stick to his boxing skills and will only become aggressive if Whyte is getting hurt or gassed out in the late rounds.

There are lots of wealthy people in Saudi Arabia, so they can afford to make that fight happen in their country. Just imagine how much AJ would make, even though he is considered the underdog in the fight. Winning the fight would open better opportunities for him. Usyk vs Fury is an anticipated fight, but it doesn't have the same buzz as Fury vs Wilder, or maybe Wilder vs AJ. Personally, I believe Fury will be able to dominate the fight due to his length and height advantage, but it will be exciting to watch if there's going to be a KO.

So, here's the scenario: If Fury beats Usyk and AJ beats Wilder, then the possibility of AJ vs Fury happening would be high.

https://www.skysports.com/boxing/news/12183/12934115/anthony-joshua-fight-with-dillian-whyte-cancelled-after-anti-doping-test-of-whyte-returns-adverse-findings

The fight is off now due to a failed drug test by Whyte  ::).

https://www.talkimg.com/images/2023/08/05/G6za3.png

So this fight is called off after Dillian Whyte's samples went positive according to VADA. Rumors are that Matchroom is looking for a replacement to face AJ in the main event. We'll see if they can find someone willing to face AJ in a week's notice.

The main supporting bout in this event is a battle between undefeated heavyweights, the IBF mandatory Filip Hrgovic, and Demsey McKean. Maybe AJ should take McKean but it could be too risky. I have zero belief that AJ takes Hrgovic. The Croatian deserves a title fight in years already and he will butcher AJ if given the chance as Whyte's replacement.

Like what you said above before the fight is AJ vs Furry they need to win their respective matchup first as we all know how hard their opponent is, like this one WILDER is one of the great boxer do AJ must do his best to win against wilder as we all know if that will happen then it will lead AJ to become a champion and have a chance to play the winner of USYk vs furry. But one thing for sure furry can dominate usyk.

This is a bummer, Anthony Joshua wanted this fight to happen because he wanted to reboot his confidence and what more than an opponent he once defeated but i was expecting Dillian Whyte to land some heavy shots and surprise Anthony Joshua in the rematch and may even become even with one each.

It is highly unlikely the rematch will take place again after the failed drug test, Anthony Joshua will be looking to fight Deontay Wilder which could be another blockbuster fight they can make.

Oh well, everyone was thinking that this could be just a walk in the park for Joshua and win and bring back his confidence. And just like the case of others before him, he pleaded not guilty, but we will see what will be the outcome, for sure they are going to look at his B sample.

If we have to recall back, Conor Benn failed a drug test too when he was supposedly to face Chris Eubank Jr. But was cleared later

But it's too late for Dillian Whyte here, the best thing for Matchroom is to find a replacement ASAP.

It is a huge disappointment to many of us who have looked forward to expecting to see AJ go against Dillian again for the third time.

This is a really bad record for Dillian Whyte that will create a stereotype, he will most likely end up with a ban after the investigation has been carried out and he is found guilty, the ban may span a number of years.

Dillian claims to be innocent - source  (https://www.boxingnewsonline.net/step-right-up-who-will-replace-dillian-whyte-and-fight-anthony-joshua/)

We will know more in a couple of days as more findings come to light.

And it was reported, that it will be Chisora that will replaced Whyte in this fight?

Not confirmed yet, but they need to find someone to replace the disgrace Dillian Whyte. And another British legend, David Haye said that Chisora called him about a week ago and says that Whyte is going to fail the drug test.

So let's see if this is going to be official or not.

I will put a grain of salt on that statement from David Haye. If Chisora is the replacement, then so be it. But we don't want to hear like Del Boy really knows and see what the future will be. Perhaps he just want to keep in shape and you know, if there is an opportunity like this, then he could grab it right away.

And Chisora will be tailor fight for Joshua, age 39 and coming from a brutal beating in the hands of Tyson Fury.

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As for the positive results on Dillian Whyte, if my memory serves me right, this is not the first time that he was caught with illegal substance.

It's now official Whyte is out and Joshua and DAZN need to find a replacement if Joshua wants to push for the date of the fight.


Chisora for me is not a good replacement the guy is done it's going to be easy work for Joshua, why not proceed with the Wilder fight and make it a winner-take-all fight, whoever losses should retire, both fighters want a way up and both are highly motivated to remain on top, this is a money-making fight after all they are the hottest item 4 years ago.

I agree with your comment; cancel the fight and proceed to Wilder. Fans don't want to get robbed for the money they are paying, so promoters should provide a fight that is worth watching. I read before that Wilder vs AJ is the undercard for Fury vs Usyk. Maybe they just have to wait for the moment to happen. Right now, they have to finalize the contract and just start training. I'm sure the fight is going to happen within this year, right?

Perhaps what they are thinking is just bringing the confidence inside of Joshua first before fighting Wilder. He needs a tune up fight and that is supposedly White. Well if AJ can beat Chisora easy then why have that fight?

Getting into Wilder after losing back to back to Usyk is going to be suicide for AJ in my opinion. And that's why he needs some cherry pick fight first before going up against Wilder. And Wilder himself has a supposedly scheduled fight against Andy Ruiz but not sure if that fight is going to happen.

Hearns wants Joshua to have good momentum 2 losses in a row are not good, and his win against Franklin is not enough to get his confidence back, Dillian Whyte can offer a good challenge Wilder is a very dangerous opponent, his last fight ended up with a big knock out against Robert Helenius.
I'm okay with Joshua picking up a new fighter before going against Wilder but I don't like Chisora, Chisora will not offer a challenge to Joshua, how about an up-and-coming fighter with good potential like Jared Anderson.

Both of Joshua and Wilder will risk his career, I don't think both of them want to fight each other within short time preparation. If Chisora is replacing Whyte, then we can expect an easy KO by Joshua since Chisora is keep losing when he reach 36 years old.

Maybe after this fight, we will see Joshua will fight with a strong boxer like Wilder or Fury.

Some years ago I heard rumors of Dillian Whyte not being clean. Whyte is a fighter who fatigues in the late rounds, this is probably the main reason why his team is trying to put something in his body to address his biggest flaw. A suspension will surely happen, but we'll see how long it will be. Whyte is not young anymore and he might bid goodbye to his dreams of getting a title fight.

The 3 possible replacements mentioned in the article seem too risky for AJ even if Wallin and Bakole are not training for real fights. I'm confident El Animal would destroy AJ left and right. This guy is being avoided like a plague by the big names for years already. Too bad he is getting his shot against Usyk, but still 50/50 IMO. Meanwhile, rumors are that the other fighters in the undercards are the ones targeted by AJ. Grandpas Derrick Chisora and Gerald Washington are the main possible replacements. I don't know what takes them long to announce it. DAZN and Matchroom are probably worried that these grandpas would make the PPV event fail but at the same time worried that their cash cow might lose if they are to replace someone decent.

Update:  Anthony Joshua sets Robert Helenius as replacement opponent for Dillian Whyte | 'I am a true Viking!'  (https://www.skysports.com/boxing/news/12183/12935394/anthony-joshua-sets-robert-helenius-as-replacement-opponent-for-dillian-whyte-i-am-a-true-viking)

AJ is officially facing this weekend Robert Helenius, the guy that was KO'd in round 1 by Deontay Wilder in his last fight last year. Robert Helenius just won a fight a few days ago in 3rd round. So the undercards remained the same. 

Looking at his record, I can say that he has been in many battles already. However, the fact that he got KO'd by Wilder makes me think that he is not a worthy opponent of AJ, and that AJ could easily beat him. Probably, he will again experience a KO loss. Imagine if my prediction were to happen, then both AJ and Wilder would have KO'd this guy, whom they are going to face as an undercard in the Fury vs Usyk fight. I'm now thrilled.

I'm more concerned about his age; he is already 39 years old and not very active, as he only has one fight every year according to his record (https://boxrec.com/en/proboxer/451505). However, I hope AJ would not underestimate his opponent, as that might spoil his upcoming big fight with Wilder. We don't want to see a scenario like the Andy Ruiz vs AJ first fight, where AJ was KO'd.

For those who are curious with the betting odds, here it is.

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https://www.britishboxingnews.co.uk/blogs/anthony-joshua-vs-robert-helenius-fight-details-time-date-tv-channel-undercard-venue-running-order-betting-odds-predictions-ring-walks-and-live-stream-info
 

I thought Helenius already retired after getting knocked out by Wilder, I doubt he is a good replacement but on the other hand, AJ will have a hard time because he is preparing against Whyte, and all of a sudden he is facing a new opponent, and he doesn't have enough time to adjust, we will see how tough AJ has become after his two losses against Usyk, if he is really a great boxer he can do adjustment in just a short period of time.

Anyway between Helenius and Whyte, Whyte is a better fighter but he still has to be cautious about what Robert Helenius is going to bring.

Obviously he is not a good replacement, but they will have to find a boxer that needs to cover and it just so happen that Helenius is there but then, not sure if he is battle ready or not. I do agree between the two, Whyte has a better chances, but we all know what happens so Joshua will have to move forward.

What are the odds though? on the favorite sport bookies that I used, it seems that this fight has been de-listed.

So this is still a good fight for Joshua to overcome his mentality and win again.

Even if he beat Helenius it will not be as impressive as when he beat Whyte, Whyte is a real challenge to Joshua's comeback, his promoter, Hearns just picked a guy out of nowhere without thinking if the boxer can be a good preparation for his possible meeting with Wilder.

Joshua needs to be very impressive here, remember Wilder beat Hlenius with a punch knock out he needs to show to the boxing community that he is as impressive as Wilder, I honestly think this is a cherry-picked fight and not good for Joshua if he wants to challenge Wilder, I think after this fight he needs another tune fight and he should pick young and up and coming boxers or a more established fighter.

They are running out of time to pick a opponent for Joshua, it might not be as impressive as we wanted to see, but Eddie Hearn needs to salvage this fight and Joshua's career.

Well if he can knockout Helenius then it might be good for his image or even boxing pundits will say that he did a great job, even more than Wilder. But if this is just a wild 12 round decision then for sure there will be a lot of criticism on the side of Joshua for not putting a replacement fighter and winning it easy.

I think it doesn't matter to him as long as he wins the fight, as he is already scheduled to fight Wilder. That's the biggest fight of his career, probably. Personally, I don't think he can beat Wilder. So, if his performance is not impressive, bettors will be betting on the side of Wilder, making him the underdog in the coming fight.

AJ here has to understand that he is up for a big fight—'just win'—and then he can enjoy a big payday, even an undercard fight only.

A win is the most important, but having an impressive win would make people believe that he has a good chance of winning against Wilder. It's not only on the betting sites; what matters most on their part are the fans who would be able to watch the fight. When the fans believe that the outcome might be unpredictable, that will add more excitement on their part and they'll be enticed to watch the fight. Well, this is just an undercard, maybe there's less impact only since fans would want to see the Fury vs Usyk fight, but it's always better to have an impressive win, though.

He is slowly going up to the top. His losses to Usyk were really big and have affected his career, but I trust that his career in boxing is not yet over.

AJ may go on to continue his career, especially since he is a big star in the UK. But I honestly doubt he can be champion again. AJ and Wilder have the puncher's chance to become champions again but other than that I doubt they can win a dominant fight without hurting their opponents first. Hopefully, these 2 will collide this December in Saudi Arabia as the rumors say. If AJ dominates and then stops this old and slow version of Helenius he could be the slight favorite over Wilder.

The heavyweight is once again getting boring unless the 2 champions face each other or retire.

Helenius is not a good replacement and he is not ready at all imho. Several days ago he had a fight against Mika Mielonen (a professional boxer with 6-1 record, but against poor boxers) and won, but Mika managed to get Helenius few times. If Helenius cant dodge, block punches from such average fighter and it took him 3 rounds to KO Mika, then Joshua gonna finish Helenius in first round, or in second, if sponsors would ask him for at least one advertisement to be aired during rounds :D

That could indeed be a possibility, as AJ is seeking an impressive victory to reinvigorate his reputation. Many of the replacements are not top-tier boxers, often being seen as secondary options. While there are instances of surprise wins by replacements, such as Ugas against Pacman, it's important to understand that this isn't a championship fight. Consequently, I'm skeptical that Helenius could cause an upset in this scenario.

On a different note, we might witness AJ adopting a less aggressive approach, as excessive aggression could lead to carelessness and potential upsets. Instead, he might opt for a consistent strategy, which could possibly result in a late-round knockout.

Once AJ has already chosen an opponent for an impressive victory and lost devastatingly. I am speaking about Andy Ruiz Jr. vs AJ fight. Ruiz was also a replacement fighter that night. I would say that Ruiz was quite on a short notice, only 1 month to prepare. He managed to knockout AJ in 7th round. With Helenius, I dont think that the result might be surprising. On the paper it looks like he is no match for AJ.

If that is the case then it's going to be good for Joshua's confident if he can win by another knockout. So it doesn't matter who will he be facing, but at least second rated boxers and that he will have to win again and that will be their point here.

So let's see if Joshua can finished him early as you have said, Helenius is not ready. But if by chance Helenius survived then we will have to question Joshua's heart again if he still has it. Otherwise, if he fought Wilder next, it could be the end of his career.

Yeah Joshua must win via KO against Helenius, Helenius isn't that strong. If Joshua can't win via KO, I'm really doubt he can win against Wilder or any other tough boxer in heavyweight, he's no longer young so this might be his last chance to get back become a champion in heavyweight division.

Next we might see he's fighting with celebrity or artist in exhibition fight.

And Eddie Hearn says that Joshua should ignore all the noise about who they pick as a replacement, for Whyte and even says that he should knockout Helenius more impressively than what Wilder did to Joshua.

But here's where the weird thing is, If we will remember, AJ was supposed to fight, Jarrell Miller, but what caught with illegal substance in his system. So they scramble and find a replacement, and guess who's that replacement fighter is, - Andy Ruiz Jr.

Ok the undercard between Filip Hgrovic vs Demsey McKean ended already as Hgrovic stop McKean in the 12th round. But it was an ugly fight and I was not impressed by the win of Filip Hgrovic.

He is going to be the IBF mandatory and will be waiting on the Oleksandr Usyk vs Daniel Dubois winner. But if this version shows in the next fight, I don't see Hgrovic whoever he faces between Usyk and Dubois.

Now it's the main event...

You can't tell with these relatively unknown fighters. They might land a lucky hit that might result to a defeat to the favorite, though it would be a rookie mistake and careless on AJ's part to just rush in and throw a flurry of punches to Helenius. The dude is still a boxer, and he can throw in some punches alright, so it's entirely possible that one mistake from AJ might lead to another due to overconfidence. I'd like it to finish in a swift and convincing fashion, although I'd understand if Joshua takes his sweet time inside the ring with Helenius.

Anthony Joshua just knock out Helenius in the 7th round of the fight

https://www.badlefthook.com/2023/8/12/23829861/joshua-vs-helenius-full-fight-video-highlights-results-aj-knockout-huge-right-hand-boxing-news-2023

Its not a sensational knockout compared to what Wilder did to Helenius but this is a good knock for Joshua now we have a Wilder -Joshua, and Hearns is looking forward to closing the deal

While the knockout might have been devastating, this wasn't such a great performance by Anthony Joshua. He gets hurt any time a punch lands cleanly and he gets hit too often. A fight against Wilder will certainly be explosive but it is highly likely that AJ will get badly hurt.

Yes, I think we all know that AJ has really change a lot ever since that first defeat from Andy Ruiz. Although prior he has been tag but we don't see any further damage from him and it seems he can take it. But after the defeat from Ruiz, he was really exposed.


Most important thing is that AJ is back and his mindset and his confidence is with him again after winning a knockout win. I think Eddie Hearn has accomplished what they want in this fight. Make AJ look again and try to resurrect his career with such KO win.

I hope that win via knockout brought his confidence back as that is very important in boxing and confidence is missing in Joshua previous fights. Hearns need to close the deal between Joshua and Wilder because if the former will face another tune-up, this mega-fight (Wilder vs Joshua) might not happen as Joshua is so unpredictable that he could lose to anyone, anytime.

Hearn said that they will start negotiating with Wilder next week. So maybe we are going to see this fight next. Although I was also the impression that Wilder will also do one fight for this year against Andy Ruiz.

But it seems that the negotiating has crumbled as Ruiz said that they are not satisfied on what the offers of Wilder is and he thought that they have agreed verbally on the split. But in papers it seems to be very different as per Ruiz camp.

So good win by Joshua with that right hand.

For sure this kind of knock win will boost the confidence back of Joshua to all time high. He was hit numerous times in this fight though, but still he seems to be intact and hasn't taken that much damage as compare to last fight with Usyk wherein he was really beaten physically and mentally.

I think this is the goal of Eddie Hearn, if Joshua can win and win impressively, then he can set up a Wilder fight maybe late this year or early next year as they are targeting the fight to be held in Saudi Arabia as there is big money in that oil rich nation.

Helenius did his best to put up a good fight and stay up to the seventh round for a fight that he had less than a month to plan and prepare for. Joshua could have gotten the win through his powerful right hand, but I still see him as not aggressive enough with his powerful right hand. If Joshua is as aggressive as Mike Tyson was in his days, Joshua will be a more deadlier fighter to face. Helenius got exhausted in the fight and could not keep his hands up to defend himself for Anthony Joshua's heavy blows. Congratulations to Anthony Joshua, we look forward to his next fight.

No, Helenius just had a fight a week ago against Mika Mielonen and won by TKO in round 3. So he is pretty much still fresh and we can say that he is still battle ready to face Joshua.

However, we've seen the difference though, Joshua is in top tier of the Heavyweight division while Helenius is below. And as he pointed out, he would rather face a late replacement than facing a drug cheater.

Cutting weight in a short amount of time alone will not help Robert Helenius in this fight, so it was a given verdict because it is literally impossible for someone to be battle ready after a fight a week ago in the professional level.

Anthony Joshua wanted to regain his confidence and he was really patient in the early rounds while Robert Helenius was the aggressor but from the 3rd round onwards Joshua started to land some heavy hooks and then his confidence level was out of the roof and the win was inevitable.

I think it's pretty obvious that this is going to be a mismatch from the very beginning. Even if Robert has prepared 100% in this fight, I doubt that he can just pull a upset against this version of Anthony Joshua. And it's bound that a knockout is going to happen and that's what we have witnessed in this fight.

And as Eddie Hearn said, they have 3 fight line up for Joshua, so against Whyte or Helenius for that matter. And then next superfights with Deontay Wilder and Tyson Fury. So let's see if this is going to happen next year.

It should be between these two, tune fights should be over for Joshua, and start focusing and getting back his lost reputation, he twice loses it against Ruiz Jr. and Usyk a win for these two Wilder and Fury will establish him as one of the greatest heavyweight, right now Fury enjoy the title, what Joshua got to lose more if he takes the risk and fight these two since these two and Usyk are the hindrances to become the greatest boxer of his era, he should dive for it he is not getting any younger anymore.

Eddie Hearn mentioned that he has some fights lined up for AJ, and he even mentioned Tyson Fury? I don't understand. How is it possible to include a champion when AJ isn't even a champion or a mandatory challenger to a champion? I think he should first get past Deontay Wilder, and then maybe we can discuss him fighting Fury.

Furthermore, there's no confirmed winner yet in a potential fight between Usyk and Fury. If Usyk were to emerge victorious, it would disrupt all the plans that Eddie Hearn had put in place.

It may not be as exciting as 5 years ago but it will still generate interest if Wilder and Joshua decide to make a deal, both fighters are hungry to get back on top, one will go down the other will go up to challenge either Fury or Usyk, I think Joshua is ready to take Wilder and so is Wilder, it's not the time for both fighters to be hesitant to fight each other as they badly need a big win to get on top again, and besides they are both even.

There should be no weight issues at all. They were fighting at heavyweight where there is no limit to how heavy you can be. Maybe if there was some disparity in size they might try to put a clause in the contract but that was unnecessary here as both fighters are naturally close in weight.

That fight, Wilder vs Joshua has been brewing for years, when they are still very hot and has the belt and no losses at all. But still though, there could still be hype around this fight even if they have gotten losses already specially Joshua.

But if in any case this version of Joshua shows against Wilder, I'm not sure if he can overcome the Bronze Bomber. Joshua's chin is not the same anymore, it has been broken many times already and if Wilder touches that, for sure he will go down.

Talking about this fight though, Joshua could somewhat regain that cockiness in him winning by knockout but it won't help him when he deals with Wilder next as it is the plan.

I think his confidence was lost when he fought Ruiz for the first time and lost that fight and he wasn't able to move on from that loss which caused him to lose much confidence in fighting stronger opponents nowadays. But the right match for him after this win would be versus Wilder because they already have losses and if he is able to win that fight and manage to knock out Wilder which is hard for him obviously, he will be able to face Tyson Fury after that and probably increased his chance to win against the real champ.

I think he got his momentum and his confidence back based on the interview after the fight

he thinks that he believes that he is the one carrying the heavyweight division when we have a lot of great boxers in this ear that has the right to say this word, let's see now if his arrogant will carry on when its time to meet Deontay Wilder, Hearns has promised that they will try to complete the deal, we're hoping that Wilder's camp is also open to the deal also, and there should be no more delay.

Cutting weight in heavyweight boxing division - what are you talking about ? :D They just need to be over 91kg and that is it. 91kg or 191kg - it is still a heavyweight. Imho, after looking what kind of fight Helenius had before this fight, one week of a rest looks enough. His opponent wasnt a world star.

In general, not impressed with AJ performance. Such opponents like Helenius he should finish much quicker. If he plans to face Wilder next, then he needs a miracle to win that fight.

The last time Anthony Joshua knockout his opponent in a boxing fight was three years ago. Having a knockout like this has boosted his confidence back that he can beat other top fighters like Wilder. He now wishes that his next fight should be against Wilder not when confirmed who his next fighter would be. His sole aim and focus now is for he to smash Wilder's head.

The organizers of WBC should at least fix Anthony Joshua and Wilder to fight one another. Since Anthony Joshua is now longer for it to happen any time. How I wish the fight should happen so that we'll know who owns the ring. Am anticipating for it to come to fulfillment by next year