Joshua was criticized for choosing to fight Finnish boxers
On August 8, manager Eddie Hearn confirmed that Helenius would replace Whyte - the British boxer who was temporarily banned from competing because he did not pass a drug test conducted by the Voluntary Anti-Doping Association (VADA) - as the opponent. Joshua's opponent in a heavyweight boxing match on August 12.
Initially, the candidates to replace Whyte were Gerald Washington, Demsey McKean, Filip Hrgovic or Derek Chisora. But after being approached, these boxers all refused because they did not want to do an alternative. With the organizers wanting to keep the number of matches of the event at the O2 ring, Joshua's side reached out to 39-year-old boxer Helenius, and the two sides quickly found a common ground.
Initially, it will cost fans $35 to watch the Joshua vs Whyte match live on the sports streaming service DAZN. But because Helenius is a lesser-known fighter than Whyte, the show on August 12 was downgraded from a pay-per-view program to a regular TV show.
However, many fans are still angry with Joshua's side choosing Helenius as a rival. Three days ago, the 39-year-old boxer won the technical knockout of Mika Mielonen in the third round in front of a home audience in Finland.
"Imagine you paying for tickets, transportation, hotels just to watch this meaningless match. Go full money. Boxing is on a downward trend and shows no signs of stopping," one fan wrote on Twitter. "I won't watch this fight. Helenius just went to the ring to get knocked out and get money. How do you win when you just fought a few days ago?", another indignant.
"Joshua is the biggest cheater in boxing history," one user criticized the British boxer, while another commented "So disappointing. Pathetic" about the match.
In the face of a wave of criticism, Hearn defended his decision to praise Helenius as a tough opponent, and predicted the Finnish boxer would cause Joshua many difficulties. This boss also admitted Joshua does not have many options and that delaying the match schedule to November will make the plan to fight with Deontay Wilder at the end of the year fall apart.
Helenius is 1m87 tall, nicknamed "Nordic Nightmare", holding dual Finnish and Swedish citizenship, having represented Sweden a few times when there was a dispute with the Finnish Boxing Federation. Helenius has been playing professionally since 2018, winning 32 and losing four matches.
The most impressive victories of the Finnish boxer came before Dereck Chisora and Adam Kownacki (twice). Helenius received four defeats against Deontay Wilder, Gerald Washington, Dillian Whyte and Johann Duhaupas.
