Wilder v Helenius (Fight Analysis)
By Ralph Rimpell
PhilBoxing.com
Sat, 15 Oct 2022
Tonight, at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn the Heavyweight division welcomes back two exciting fighters whose boxing careers have taken different paths. Deontay Wilder is the former WBC Heavyweight champion. He will make his return to boxing in an effort to snap a two fight losing streak, both by TKOs, (from current WBC Heavyweight Champion Tyson Fury) facing off against Robert Helenius (31-3, 20KOs) who is a on a three fight win streak. Most notably, Helenius derailed all the excitement, attention, and a possible world title opportunity from former contender Adam Kownaki when he stopped Kownaki in brutal fashion back in March 2020 (4th round TKO) and October 2021 (6th round TKO).
Wilder was 43-0 and had made 7 defenses of his WBC title before he lost to Fury. His record now stands at 42-2-1, 41KOS. The draw (Judges scoring the fight even) on Wilder’s record is also against Fury as well. Most observers of the first Wilder-Fury fight, that ended in a draw, believed Fury won that fight as well.
Helenius started off his career in 2008 with a lot of promise winning his first 22 fights, but was 28-3 by 2019 when he lost to Gerald Washington, which was his third loss. It seemed that Helenius would be an opponent for up and coming fighters. Helenius is friendly with Wilder because Helenius, according to reports, has served as Wilder’s sparring partner in preparation for Wilder’s past fights. Therefore, these two know each other very well. So what are the keys to victory for Helenius tonight?
Helenius must come with the same attitude that he came with when he fought Knownacki. The attitude must be, I’m not here just for a payday and a little exposure, but I’m here to win. The same way Knownacki recklessly attacked Helenius and left himself defenseless, Helenius must counter Wilder, use good defense, and his chin must hold up or absorb the heavy punches from Wilder. Helenius must return punching power so Wilder can respect his power as well. If Wilder respects Helenius’s power, then Helenius can use good boxing skill to set up his punches from the outside to outbox Wilder and possibly stop Wilder somewhere in the 9th or 10th round. Wilder relies on power not on boxing skill, which is what makes Wilder an exciting fighter.
What must Wilder do to prevail against Helenius?
This is Wilder’s second fight with new trainer, Malik Scott. According to sources, Scott has Wilder doing roadwork. Roadwork meaning cardio training (running) to improve his stamina for the fight. Reports were Wilder did not and does not like to do roadwork for past fights, which was why he tired out early in fights. Reports are Scott is also working on boxing skills with Wilder which is wise because even the best punchers can’t knock out every opponent. If Wilder comes out and throws his bombs (heavy punches) and Helenius doesn’t get knocked out, Wilder will have no choice but to box him for the entire fight.
If Helenius puts up a good fight and scores some good punches of his own like he did against Knownacki, will Wilder revert to his old self and abandon the game plan from training camp and just start throwing bombs? Did Wilder do enough Cardio? For Wilder to beat Helenius he must stick with the game plan which likely is to use the jab and throw good combinations. He must use good defense as well. If Wilder views Helenius as a sparring partner who is just here for a payday the same thing that happened to Knowacki will likely happen to Wilder. The victor of this fight is the fighter who is able to impose his will on the other fighter and fights smart. This writer picks Helenius by 10th round TKO.
Boxing Notes
As of the writing of this article NO OFFICIAL ANNOUNCEMENT OF CRAWFORD VS SPENCE. It’s been 6 months and whether it be a writer, active fighter, retired boxer, or a fan the boxing world is picking who is going win between Crawford and Spence. Reports from various sources are the fight is still being negotiated and will happen later. This is not first time a “Big Fight” that has not been signed. There are countless examples in the past. Most recently, Wilder vs Joshua never got signed. Eventually both fighters lost and fans to date have not gotten that fight. If the boxing world does not get Crawford vs Spence I say we’ll accept it. How about Spence vs Jaron “Boots” Innis? Or Crawford vs Virgil Ortiz? Or vice versa, Crawford vs Jaron “Boots” Innis or Spence v Crawford? Those proposed fights are more exciting than any other fights at 154lbs or the possibility of a fight “big fight” at 154lbs against Jermell Charlo. Why? The undisputed King at 154lbs Jermell Charlo who currently has ALL 4 belts (WBA, WBC, IBF, WBO). Charlo has mandatories for all 4 belts one right after the other starting with (WBO) Tim Tsyzu. Then likely (WBC) Sebastian Fundora, etc. If Spence fights Charlo is he likely to make the same money offered for a Crawford fight? If Crawford can’t come to an agreement with PBC to fight Spence is he likely to come to an agreement to fight Charlo? Manny Pacquiao has just expressed interest in fighting the winner of Crawford vs Spence. That being the case if Crawford-Spence doesn’t get signed, the real a “big fight” at 147lbs is with Pacquiao.
***Ralph Rimpell is a writer based out of New York and is a Boxing Correspondent for Philboxing.com. Ralph holds an undergraduate degree from City University of New York. He has been a Boxing Writer for over ten years having written for several top boxing websites on the World Wide Web. Before becoming a writer, Ralph's passion was for professional wrestling until he realized professional wrestling was entertainment and not a real sport. It was at that time the 1984 US Olympic team made up of future stars such as Evander Holyfield, Meldrick Taylor, Pernell Whitaker, etc. entered the professional ranks and signed with promotional outfit Main Events.It was also at that time a young exciting Heavyweight originally hailing from Brooklyn named Mike Tyson also turned professional and became the face of boxing. Young boxing fan Ralph just couldn't get enough of boxing as a large part of it was being broadcast on "free TV". As time went on, Ralph felt boxing writers were not being forthcoming with their boxing coverage, opinion pieces, interviews, etc. So Ralph decided to write an article and submitted it to a Boxing website thinking it would be deleted and ignored by the Editor. To Ralph's surprise his article was posted on their website and the readers embraced it. The rest is history.
"I thank God for the Internet because it has created opportunities for writers like myself who likely would not have been given an opportunity to write for print publications. I hope someday soon to expand my role in Boxing on different levels." -- Ralph Rimpell
Contact writer: RLuvsboxing@aol.com
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Ralph Rimpell.
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