By James Slater: The speculation over who exciting, unbeaten heavyweight contender Robert Helenius will face on December 3rd on the supporting slot to the Alexander Povetkin-Cedric Boswell “Regular” WBA heavyweight title fight has ended. “The Nordic Nightmare” will face once-beaten Brit, Dereck “Del Boy” Chisora.
27-year-old Helenius, 16-0(11) was in negotiations with a couple of names (Johnathon Banks amongst them), but former British and Commonwealth heavyweight ruler Chisora, 15-1(9) has bagged the fight, and with it a chance to claim the vacant European title that will be on the line in Finland.
A good fight on paper, and a stern test for the 6’7” Helenius, the support bout promises to outshine the main event next month. Chisora may have disappointed many by coming in overweight against Tyson Fury back in July – the 6’1” Londoner coming in at a career-heavy 261-pounds – but the 27-year-old can certainly fight when in better condition.
This past Friday (Nov. 11th), Chisora returned to winning ways with a routine six-round points win over Lithuanian journeyman Remigijus Ziausys (19-43-3 coming in) and he weighed a far more acceptable 241-pounds. If Chisora has the hunger back, as his trainer Don Charles claims, the Dec. 3rd fight could be most interesting.
Helenius has many fans convinced he is the successor to the Klitschkos, with the Finn a definite future world champ. The excitement is easy to understand, seeing how Helenius is a damaging puncher coming off two KO wins over former champions in Sam Peter and Serhei Liakhovich (both 9th-round stoppage wins for the man from Finland).
There is no doubting Helenius’ power, and so far he has shown good stamina and a reliable chin. Chisora will likely be up against it next month, yet if Helenius can score another stoppage he will have surprised some people. Chisora has a good chin, a good engine (when in top shape, as he surely will be for this fight) and good all-round skills. I will even go as far as to predict that Chisora will make the somewhat crude Helenius look foolish at times – but the later rounds will be the acid test for the Brit.
Helenius has come back from a points deficit before; if he can do so again and knock Chisora flat, I for one will become more of a believer as far as his chances of reaching the top are concerned.