'Anthony Joshua rediscovers KO touch but will Deontay Wilder fear him?'

It was lights out for ‘The Nordic Nightmare’, but not necessarily a return of the ruthless Anthony Joshua many expected.

British heavyweight Joshua, 33, was hoping to roll back the years and breathe new life into what many feel is a stalling career, against an opponent who took the fight at a week’s notice.

Instead Joshua boxed cautiously, at times lethargically, and was subjected to jeers from the crowd before knocking out Finland’s Robert Helenius in the seventh round at London’s O2 Arena.

“If I could have done it earlier, I would have,” Joshua – sporting sunglasses to conceal slight swelling to his eye – said at the post-fight news conference.

“It’s a breaking down job. There’s many ways to skin a cat and I did it in the end.”

Joshua rediscovered his knockout touch, his first since beating Kubrat Pulev in December 2020.

“I’m pleased, relieved and ready to move forward,” promoter Eddie Hearn added.

But with a fight with Deontay Wilder mooted for early next year, was that a performance which would strike fear in the hard-hitting American? Or any of the top three or four heavyweights in the world?

‘Have any of them boxed before?’ – Joshua responds to jeers

Helenius – a replacement for Dillian Whyte after the Londoner failed a voluntary drugs test – is not a world-beater, but a credible opponent at short notice.

The 39-year-old was fighting fit, having competed in his homeland a week before. More importantly, he was a man with very little to lose and a great deal to gain.

But British fight fans are among the harshest of critics. Credit is not mindlessly dished out, high expectations need to be met.

In the build-up, Joshua promised an early knockout. He appeared to be up for the fight.

“You got a problem?” he barked at Helenius at the weigh-in. A question you’re more likely to hear moments before a pub brawl than from the usually composed Joshua.

However, for the first 18 minutes of the fight, neither boxer truly let their hands go. No flush shots landed.

An already agitated crowd – made to wait until 23:30 BST for the main event – voiced their frustrations.

“Were they booing me or Helenius? That’s the question,” Joshua asked post-fight.

He added: “Have any of them ever boxed before? They don’t understand it’s competitive boxing. We’re trying to shut each other’s advances down.

“It’s a game of chess and from the outside chess is boring.”

‘The old AJ was just an inexperienced guy’ – Hearn

In a phenomenal rise to stardom, 2012 Olympic gold medallist Joshua became world champion in his 16th fight, knocked out his first 20 opponents and unified the division in his 21st outing.

But the last time he stopped an opponent in the first half of a fight was almost seven years ago, against Eric Molina in 2016.

From armchair fans to ex-professionals, ‘Joshua is not the fighter he was, he’s lost it’ is a widely held opinion.

Hearn disagrees, saying: “The old AJ was just an inexperienced guy who didn’t really know what he was doing but had to fight like that because he didn’t know how to break an opponent down.”

When it did finally click for Joshua on Saturday, it was ferocious. A double feint and a powerful right to inflict a fifth career defeat on Helenius.

“If he lands a right hand like that on Wilder then the fight’s over,” Hearn adds. “And vice versa. That’s why it’s the best fight in boxing.”

Hearn also feels Joshua has the capabilities to outbox Wilder. It is a tough ask considering Tyson Fury – an outstanding technical boxer and mover – was dropped four times in their trilogy.

“He can’t just stand there and jab, it doesn’t work against Wilder. He will run through him,” former world champion David Haye warned Joshua on BBC Radio 5 Live.

Joshua is a rich man – the world’s 28th highest-paid athlete in 2023, making an estimated $53m last year according to Forbes. The Wilder fight would offer a career-high payday.

“I’m just focused on smashing his head in,” Joshua said.

Wilder stopped Helenius in under three minutes in October 2022. He has only ever lost to Briton Fury and has knocked out 42 men out of 43 wins.

Joshua would go into the bout as a clear underdog, but believes it could be a legacy-defining fight.

“I’m just happy we’re getting this fight potentially soon,” he said.

“It does great for boxing. We’ll look back at the era and go ‘that guy fought everyone.’ That’s what’s important. Not protecting your ‘0’.”– bbc.com