Helenius: I Don’t Take Loss To Washington Seriously; I Was Really, Really Sick That Week

From the skin trying in, it appeared as if Robert Helenius’ profession got here to an abrupt finish within the eighth spherical of his struggle in opposition to Gerald Washington in July 2019.

A proper hand by Washington despatched Helenius flat on his again that night time. Helenius’ head rested briefly on the underside rope and as he tried to rise up, referee Gary Miezwa waved an finish to a scheduled 10-round struggle FS1 televised from The Armory in Minneapolis.

Miezwa would possibly as nicely have waved an finish to Helenius’ profession.

Washington was blown out within the second spherical of his earlier look by then-unbeaten Adam Kownacki and had been stopped in three of his earlier 4 fights general when he entered the ring to face Helenius. Washington’s string of setbacks included a fifth-round, technical-knockout loss to former WBC heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder, Helenius’ opponent Saturday night time at Barclays Heart in Brooklyn.

At 35, Helenius appeared destined to develop into an opponent for creating heavyweights. Finland’s Helenius knew higher.

In hindsight, the 38-year-old Helenius realizes he “most likely” ought to’ve withdrawn from the Washington bout as a result of he was very in poor health throughout struggle week. His illness impacted Helenius’ efficiency, however the 6-foot-6 veteran was nonetheless beating Washington on two scorecards by means of seven rounds (67-66, 67-66, 66-67).

That devastating defeat didn’t demoralize Helenius as a result of he understood he couldn’t compete at anyplace close to one hundred pc with Washington, a former tight finish and defensive finish for USC.

“I don’t take that struggle actually critically as a result of I wasn’t my very own self in that struggle,” Helenius stated throughout a digital press convention just lately. “I’d been actually, actually sick that week earlier than the struggle, so solely I may know what went incorrect in that struggle. So, I don’t know, I simply [kept] on working.”

Helenius has received three straight fights since Washington beat him. His back-to-back TKO victories over Kownacki (20-3, 15 KOs) have propelled him into this showdown with Wilder, who has sparred many rounds with Helenius at Wilder’s health club in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.

The 6-foot-7 Wilder (42-2-1, 41 KOs), who will flip 37 on October 22, and Helenius (31-3, 20 KOs) each will finish one-year layoffs after they sq. off in a 12-round, non-title bout that’ll headline a four-fight FOX Sports activities Pay-Per-View present (9 p.m. ET; $74.99). Caesars Sportsbook has established Wilder an 8-1 favourite.

Keith Idec is a senior author/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He might be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.