Listing age, when Robert's older, and inactivity, when its the sane, was nonsensical imo. Now... momentum, and form deterioration (based on damage taken) I agree is a very real factor in the fight and makes the fight more dangerous for Wilder, no doubt.
To this day! Should be a fun night, as most of Wilder's fights are. If Helenius is still around in the 2nd half of the fight then it is possible Wilder's mental fortitude collapses. I will tune in for sure. For the record I think this is a Wilder KO 4-6 rds.
I doubt Helenius will take it too Wilder, that's not really his style. Being tall he likes to fight at range, using the jab, so he'll give Wilder the space and opportunity to set up the big right hand. As much as I like Helenius, I really think he's in for a short and painful night.
When Fury was coming off an equal amount of inactivity to fight Wilder in the trilogy I was concerned that this may give Wilder the advantage because on their best form I expected Fury to win but if both were rusty and sloppy then Wilder has a greater chance of landing something big. The defence of both fighters can suffer if they are not match fit, which makes the fight more random, which tends to favour the underdog, especially if he's a puncher. I think it's a sensible logical train. Wilder probably KO's Helenius if both are active or inactive but an inactive Wilder has a higher chance of being caught by an inactive Helenius than does an active Wilder of being caught by an active Helenius imo. I just looked back at a Scott interview where he talked about injuries and he didn't mention a broken eardrum, so I may have false memories of this. It was reported in a newspaper (DailyRecord) that Wilder had a "suspected perforated eardrum" in the trilogy but with no quotations so it's not reliable. He was bleeding out of his left ear in both fights though, it's a bad idea to let everyone know about a potential severe physical and psychological weak spot and Fury's got form for destroying eardrums, as Scott will admit. Scott and Wilder also didn't deny that Fury broke both of their eardrums when he was taunting them about it at the summer press conference and Fury went straight for the left eardrum with the first KD. I suspect that this is a very vulnerable spot now and if Helenius can land a big punch on that left eardrum, Wilder's going to hit the canvas hard.
Bahaha... Kownacki would get schooled by Ruiz, Chisora, Whyte and especially Parker. Kownacki has no defence or decent footwork or speed. He couldn't crack any of those chins, and he's certainly not going to outbox any of them.
The case you could make for Robert Helenius is he finally looks like the fighter he was a dozen years ago when the boxing world tapped him as a future world champion. Helenius was bowling over former champs (Peter, Brewster, Liakhovich) and fringe contenders (Attila Levin) who still had something left. He was sparring with the best in the world. He had that dominant jab that could take over a fight. He seemed like a sure thing. Then he fell while running and injured his shoulder during his camp for the once-beaten Chisora. A win would propel Helenius into a title fight with either the WBA Regular Champ Povetkin or the WBC champ Vitali Klitschko. Chisora had already lost to the young Tyson Fury, so his managers at the time convinced Robert to go ahead with the Chisora fight. This was no time to stop the momentum they were on. Helenius did start fast and hurt Chisora early. But his shoulder suffered further damage during the bout with Chisora. By the end he was basically a one-armed fighter. He was still awarded a controversial decision and had maintained his unbeaten record. But the physical damage was done. Helenius had surgery to put tendons from his leg into his shoulder. He'd be out for nearly a year. And, based on his performance against Helenius, Chisora got the shot with Vitali instead. And Tyson Fury sort of stepped in and took Robert's place as the big, new heavyweight on the rise. When he came back from surgery, Helenius didn't seem nearly as good. After a couple fights, he had problems with management and was out for another extended period. He got fat. Once he got his issues sorted, he tried to get back on the fast track. People were still interested. And he was still unbeaten. So he took on Duhaupas, who was coming off a challenge against Wilder. In front of his hometown fans, Helenius was knocked out. Since then, he never has been viewed the same. Not until he showed up in Brooklyn to face Adam Kownacki in 2000, who was sort of experiencing the same push towards the title Helenius was a dozen years earlier. Nobody expected much from Helenius. Kownacki was fighting in front of his Polish fans. But Helenius showed up in shape, flaunted the great jab he once possessed, boxed at a distance, fired hard right hands, and just took Kownacki apart. That's what everyone expected him to do to Chisora years before. It was almost like he'd finally reset. In the return against Kownacki, Helenius looked just as sharp. He basically ended the career of Kownacki as a contender that night. While preparing for the rematch, Helenius sparred countless rounds with Wilder to help Wilder prepare for the third Fury fight. Helenius knows how Wilder likes to set up his right hand. Helenius has felt it with the big gloves and headgear on. He knows what it's like to muscle Wilder around the ring. He knows in what instances his jab will work against Wilder and when he needs to just move and get out of the way. Wilder had problems with Fury's style. I don't think Wilder could've chosen another fighter whose style was more similar to Fury's. If Helenius can mimmick Fury's attack, he should have similar success against Wilder. Of course, it will likely come down to how well Helenius can take Wilder's power. Fury was dropped four times but still managed to get up and win. I don't know if Helenius could go down like that and do something similar. He'll need to stay off the deck. That said, I wouldn't be surprised if both guys hit the floor. I like both fighters. If Robert wins, I'll be happy for him. He worked really hard to get back into this position. But I'd like to see Wilder-Usyk more. Should be an exciting night.
If Fury can make Wilder do the chicken dance, I reckon Helenius can do it too... I do lean towards Wilder though, through athletisism, length and that A-bomb. He should get the job done before Helenius gets the chance. Good fight actually. C'mon Bob
If thats your opinion than thats your opinion. My issue I guess is that you state it like its based in logic, and I dont think it is. I think its based on many variables we dont know the answers to. But around in circles that goes discussion wise. Thanks for explaining it further at least. Ya Malik never mentioned Wilder suffered a broken ear drum. The truth would appear to be, people assumed Wilder had a broken ear drum due to bleeding from his ear, that turned out to be a scratch that he needed stitches for. This, combined with Fury busting Maliks eardrum.... lead to numerous headlines and articles containing and repeating the false information of Wilder having a busted ear drum. Officially, it has been revealed that Wilder didnt sustain a busted ear drum. Any position taken to the contrary is, officially, refuted conjecture. If someone is of the opinion that Wilder did suffer two busted eardrums in a row and is vulnerable to that, then it is what it is. But thats mere opinion and shouldnt be stated as if it is an 'official' fact.
People are making out Helenius is like a top 10 HW....he lost to Washington of all people only 3 fights ago and has only beaten Kownacki since lol
Nice comeback fight for DW and Helenius should have some confidence being on a roll, but Wilder wins this rather easily.
"But thats mere opinion and shouldnt be stated as if it is an 'official' fact." Fair enough, I will edit the post.
One thing for me is I really doubt Wilder would take the heavy shots Kownacki ate especially in that second fight. If Helenius can land some of those again then Wilder is in trouble, big if I know but we don't know what Fury took out of him.
When Whyte went the 12 round distance with payday-chasing short notice Helenius in Britain, 22-0 Helenius had been walked down and KO'd inside 6 rounds in Finland 19 months prior by Duhaupas and had been taking low level tune ups ever since. 4.5 months post-Whyte he got what was universally regarded as a gift decision to a 10-14-3 journeyman with 3 KO defeats and 1 win in his last 9(!) fights. Since the Washington defeat in July 2019, Helenius has put together a 3 KO streak, including back to back wins over Kownacki stretching over a 19 month period of inactivity, away from home and as a wide underdog both times. This is probably the best and most consistent form of Helenius's entire career, which is why he's now ranked 12th between an amalgamation of sanctioning body rankings.
