Anthony Joshua vs. Robert Helenius Boxing Odds, Time, and Prediction

Anthony Joshua was originally supposed to fight Dillian Whyte this coming Saturday in a rematch of their 2015 bout. However, Whyte failed the drug test, for which the bout ended up canceled. To save the day, AJ agreed to fight a much less famous opponent, for which he had to take a pay cut, according to his manager Eddie Hearn.

But that’s not the biggest issue for Joshua. He was preparing for Whyte but will now have to face a different kind of opponent. The man in question is 39-year-old Finnish pugilist Robert Helenius, who’s got a higher knockout-to-win ratio than Andy Ruiz Jr, the only boxer who KO-ed Joshua.

Anthony Joshua vs. Robert Helenius Odds

*Odds taken from bet365 on Wednesday, August 9, 2023.

When, Where, and How to Watch?

• Place: The O2 Arena in London, United Kingdom
• Date: Saturday, August 12
• Time: ~6:00 p.m. ET
• How to Watch: DAZN

Anthony Joshua Needs to be Extra Careful on Saturday

Anthony Joshua is 25-3 overall with 22 wins by knockout/technical knockout. He’s one of the best boxers in the world, with only two heavyweights who might be better than him being Oleksandr Usyk and Tyson Fury. If the fight with Whyte went through, we think that AJ would have no problems winning. 

There’s no arguing that AJ is superior to his new opponent as well. He’s more technical, as well as more agile, and even more powerful than Robert Helenius. However, the fact is that he hasn’t been preparing for this fight. Whyte’s doping test came out positive earlier this week, meaning that Joshu and his team will have had only a couple of days to come up with a good strategy for fighting Helenius.

The reason why this should worry his fans is that a similar thing happened before his first fight with Andy Ruiz Jr. AJ was originally supposed to fight Jarrell Miller, but the bout was canceled after he tested positive for a banned substance. Ruiz Jr. stepped in as his replacement – on two months’ notice – and went on to beat Joshua by TKO.

That was Joshua’s first career loss, and it remains his only loss inside the distance in his almost 10 years long professional boxing career.

Is Robert Helenius the New Andy Ruiz Jr?

Robert Helenius is 32-4 overall with 21 wins by KO/TKO. What this means is that his knockout-to-win ratio is in the ballpark of 65%. What’s interesting is that Andy Ruiz Jr’s percentage is 62%. Does this mean that Helenius can do the same thing Ruiz Jr did to Joshua?

The Joshua vs. Helenius odds suggest he can’t. The main reason is that he just doesn’t have great stats against high-profile fighters. At least not in the last couple of years. He did beat Derek Chisora in a title fight, but that happened a long time ago – back in 2011.

In recent years, we saw him fight a couple of big-name boxers, including Dillian Whyte and Deontay Wilder. However, he lost both of those bouts.

Anthony Joshua vs. Robert Helenius Prediction

In 2019, Anthony Joshua lost to a +2500 underdog, which remains one of the biggest upsets in the history of the heavyweight division. Four years later, he’s taking on a +900 underdog, and we think he’s going to win this time.

He’s much, much better than Helenius, and is aware of the nuclear option the Finn has in his fists. That’s why AJ will probably be even more careful than usual, but that won’t stop him from grabbing a win.

Pick: Anthony Joshua to win