It was an easy ride for Anthony Joshua as he
Knocked out Robert Helenius inside seven rounds at the O2 Arena in London on Saturday.
Helenius had stepped in at short notice to fight Joshua after original opponent Dillian Whyte was prevented from the show due to issues relating to anti-doping.
The fight, for Joshua is a gradual step on the road back to reclaiming his world heavyweight champions title he lost to Andy Ruiz.
Although Hellenius was able to drag on the fight with Joshua into the second half of their fight, he would later crash off with a single shot and huge right cross falling off to his jaw to drop him heavily down at 1-27 of the seventh round.
After a relatively matched up first round, Joshua started taking control by the second round and with the third round being laced with boos from some quarters of the arena, he launched a right cross flush into Helenius’ jaw who actually withstood it but a grim on his face confirmed its effect.
While he boxed through the fourth and fifth round, it became clear in the sixth round that Joshua had it all ending for him before hitting it off in the seventh round.
Hellenius had made himself available for the fight a few days after he had taken a three-round victory over Mika Mielonen last weekend in Finland.
AJ, who with the victory recorded his first stoppage win since 2020 is being taunted to line up a fight against Deontay Wilder in January next year as he continues his search for reclaiming his belt.
It’s a fickle sport, you’ve got to be real about this industry and not get caught up. I’ve done my job tonight,” Joshua told BBC Radio 5 live.
When asked about the potential fight with Wilder, Joshua joked: “My back’s gone, is there a doctor in here? I want to carry this heavyweight division to the top