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Joshua vs. Helenius Press Conference Quotes
Eddie Hearn, Matchroom Sport Chairman:
"It’s a night of Heavy Duty action at The O2 in London, with
Anthony Joshua now facing 'The Nordic Nightmare’, 6ft 9in
Robert Helenius as 'AJ' looks to move on to some of the
biggest fights in the division, and the undercard is stacked
with some of the biggest, baddest and best Heavyweights in
the world, along with some of our youngest talent.
"We know the issues of the last few days and it’s never easy
to think on your feet and adapt, but the instruction from
Anthony Joshua was clear, ‘I’m ready to fight and I want to
fight on Saturday.’
"We have to thank our broadcast partner DAZN. The great news
for subscribers that this is no longer Pay-Per-View -
unbelievable value for fight fans to be able to watch 'AJ'
in a big fight with a great undercard, so thank you to them
for their support as we have not only 'AJ' that wanted to
fight on Saturday, but all these undercard fighters that
have had long training camps too, and as we all know, you
only get paid when you fight.
"It’s been a challenging few days and I want to thank 'AJ',
who stayed focused after putting 12 weeks of hard work into
his camp and was desperate to fight on Saturday night and
showcase the hardwork that took place, and Robert Helenius,
who accepted the challenge and has a good team of people
around him we knew wouldn’t mess around, and we knew he was
fit and had just boxed. This is an important fight at The
O2."
Anthony Joshua (25-3, 22 KOs faces Robert Helenius over 12
rounds at Heavyweight):
"I looked at the undercard and I know how important it is
for them to compete. I know how hard you (Eddie Hearn)
worked, and all the Matchroom staff, my coach, DAZN, so it’s
a responsibility I have. Late replacements aren’t ideal but
it’s the third time it’s happened. A long career will
present these types of obstacles and I’ve just got to get
used to them, it’s just another rock in my shoe to the top
of the mountain.
"The principles remain the same, worry about myself. Robert
and I sparred years ago, we shared the ring, but I’ve
sparred with so may styles, competed with som many styles,
the objective remains the same - victory, and victory by any
means. There’s no overtime in boxing so I have to be on my
A-game and inflict pain to get the victory.
"Coming off the back of Covid, everyone suffered during that
period. The sport industry slowed down and now we just want
to get some momentum going again. As Derrick said, I came
out to camp early this year, I took a couple of weeks, maybe
a month back in the UK then went to Dallas, to try to
progress on. So, my goal was to fight as many times as
possible, like Robert, he fought on Saturday, you have to
stay active, keep expressing your skill as that’s the only
way to improve. I fought in April, but I’ve spent a lot of
time in the ring in the gym as we do a lot of ring work in
Dallas, and that’s the closest thing to a fight. It’s not
just hitting the bags and mitts, there’s a lot of combat
training so I am physically ready.
"It would be silly to underestimate him, or anyone. I have
to take him deadly serious and credit to him, he’s coming to
roll the dice, he wants to win. Other Heavyweights that were
mentioned, finance is an issue - risk versus reward, but in
reality, that’s not all there is for him, so good luck to
him, and shout out to everyone in Finland, I’ve been there
before, and we’re looking to provide some good entertainment
from top to bottom as the card is unbelievable.
"The card is phenomenal, it’s the old days at The O2 and
this is what we want to bring, it’s entertainment. It’s not
‘I’m coming out to watch Anthony Joshua’, no, it’s ‘I’m
coming out to watch a Matchroom show, a great night of
boxing’, so credit to everyone involved in this."
Derrick James, trainer of Anthony Joshua:
"You have to move forward. Now it is all about Robert who is
a pretty good fighter, you will see everything 'AJ' has been
able to work on throughout camp and implement it into his
game.
"We have had a little more time this time. It’s all about
the process, he’s brought into that process and he’s getting
better and better.
"The only difference from Dillian to Robert is you have to
change the trajectory of the punches, one shorter and lower,
now higher because he’s 6ft 9in. But it’s good, he’ll be
able to show his transition from fighting one guy to a week
later another guy, so we will see."
Robert Helenius (32-4, 21 KOs fights Anthony Joshua over 12
rounds at Heavyweight):
"Thank you for giving me this opportunity. This fight offer
came to me after my fight at the weekend. I was going on
vacation with my family but not anymore, here we are. We had
a good camp behind us, and we feel ready. I am ready to
fight, otherwise I wouldn’t be here. I respect him, he’s a
good fighter. It’s going to be glorious. I’ve been chasing
the World Title for 15 years and when you get this big of an
opportunity you can’t let it slip and I will give everything
to win this fight."
Markus Sundman, manager of Robert Helenius:
"Massive opportunity, when do you get a call this close to a
fight night and you come off a camp and you are in shape,
everything has fallen into place. Victory would mean
everything."
Alfie Sharman, VP DAZN:
"We were obviously disappointed with the news but we move,
and here we are in London with an AJ fight week, and
everybody knows with an 'AJ' fight week it’s a huge event.
"We want to thank our great partners 'AJ', Freddie
Cunningham and everyone at 258, Eddie, Frank and Matchroom
and the teams at DAZN working tirelessly behind the scenes
to make sure the event goes ahead. Robert is a tough
opponent; he’s been in with the best and he’s here to spoil
the party.
"The O2 will be full on Saturday, the undercard is
incredibly strong, and this night is part of the DAZN
subscription and there’s much more to come, make sure you
tune in on Saturday live on DAZN."
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