Anthony Joshua knocks out Finnish opponent, records first KO victory since 2020

On Saturday night, Anthony Joshua, a British boxer of Nigerian descent, knocked out his opponent, Robert Helenius, in their heavyweight boxing match at the O2 Arena in London.

After landing a vicious punch on his Finnish opponent in the seventh round, the former heavyweight champion won the bout.

Joshua wins via knockout for the first time since December 2020, when he defeated Bulgarian Kubrat Pulev to defend his WBA, IBO, IBF, and WBO titles.

Helenius, who stepped in for the banned Dylian White a week before the fight, needed oxygen but recovered in time to congratulate a trim Joshua before exiting the ring alone.

“I knew this would happen, everyone’s talking about the new AJ and the old AJ and after two or three rounds the crowd starts to get a little bit impatient,” said Eddie Hearn, Joshua’s promoter, in a chat with BBC.

“He finds the measure of his right hand and he delivers one of the knockouts of the year on Robert Helenius… this is just the AJ you’re going to see now.

“He’s still got to be more aggressive than we saw tonight but there’s a lot on the line.”

Joshua has now won back-to-back fights following his decision victory over Jermaine Franklin in April.

It is also his second victory since ceding his heavyweight title belts to Oleksandr Usyk, who defeated him twice.

Usyk defeated Joshua on September 25, 2021. On August 21, 2022, the British boxer will face his Ukrainian adversary for the second time.

Joshua’s record now stands at 26 wins and three losses, with 23 of his victories coming by knockout.