The official weights are in for tomorrow night’s heavyweight clash between Anthony Joshua and late replacement foe Robert Helenius. Joshua, looking ripped and ready as he always does, tipped-in at 250 pounds on the nose. Helenius, who also looks to be in good physical condition (the Finn boxed last weekend) scaled just a pound less at 249.
The two then went face-to-face and, out of character for Joshua, the former two-time heavyweight champ appeared to lose his cool a little, with Joshua asking Helenius if he “has a problem.”
Twice, AJ demanded of Helenius, “have you got a problem with me?”
“You’re looking at me like you’ve got a problem or something,” Joshua said to Helenius. “You got a problem with me?”
“I don’t have a problem,” Helenius said as the intense stare-down continued.
“Seriously, is everything all right with you,” AJ demanded. “You know, all this shit here don’t matter. Either we’re gonna fight now or we fight tomorrow……either way we’re gonna fight. All this acting up here don’t really mean shit to me unless you wanna fight me here and now. You know what I’m trying to say? Let’s stay calm and cool.”
“I am cool,” Helenius said.
“Good,” said AJ, still not looking like he was close to happy with the way Helenius was eyeballing him. “I’ll see ya tomorrow,” Joshua said with a sneer.
So, we’ve seen the angry side, the aggressive side of Joshua at the weigh-in, let’s now hope, in the interests of a good fight, we see Joshua enter the ring in the same frame of mind. It’s not clear what got under AJ’s skin today, but something sure did. Good, plenty of fans will no doubt say. The knock on Joshua just recently has been his lack of venom in the ring, his unwillingness to let his hands go, the lack of KO’s on AJ’s recent record. If today’s bad mood was anything to go by, Joshua may well come out with bad intentions tomorrow night at The O2.
If Helenius comes out swinging himself, we could get treated to a good heavyweight slugfest. For as long as the fight lasts.
Pick: Joshua to take a game Helenius out inside five rounds, with both men landing some hefty shots along the way.
Weights:
Anthony Joshua 250 Robert Helenius 249.4
Filip Hrgovic 243.1 Demsey McKean 245.5
Derek Chisora 252.1 Gerald Washington 237.9
Campbell Hatton 141.8 Tom Ansell 141.9
