I don't know about that. There's quite a few on there I think he struggles with. Liakhovich at that point still had enough in the tank to wins decision, Peter i'd favor as well.... Oluokun had a more come to win attitude back then, and I think that version has a good chance of beating Teper as well.
Liakhovich & Peter? (even allowing for the fact that neither was their best anymore in 2011?) Does he stop Brewster (again, even with him being legally blind)? Does he shut out Tank Williams? Does he defeat Bidenko? :think I'm not entirely sure the answer is a resounding yes to any of those.
larry holmes-esque. :yep but seriously helenius' jab is a not a good one, its a paw and slow. Hes a good finisher though, i expect a slugfest and not the 6'6 finlander to outbox teper.
Helenius has a very good jab, actually. He doesn't always use it, but his jab is one of the best in business when he has the conditioning to execute it. Here is a recent picture of Robert with his middle weight sparring partner https://instagram.com/p/9xoZrjMaBA/
They both struggled with Oloukun, the version that fought Helenius might've given Teper more problems though. Liakhovich was pretty much gone after his war with Brewster and terrible losses to Briggs and Valuev. But especially Sam Peter, I think he was completely gone after Klitschko's took his soul over three fights and he still gave Helenius some problems for 8 rounds. I do think Helenius is the favourite here, but Teper showed reasonable jab, stamina, handspeed and punch variation so far so if his chin holds up -which is admitedly yet to be proven- he has a fair chance is here.
Teper has improved a lot within the last 2 years,and he for sure can punch.I watched him score 2 knockdowns against Robert Hawkins.He almost took him out.Hawkins is a teak tough cookie who can take a punch or two. Sure,Teper is no muderous puncher,but he has power in his fists. As for Helenius vs Teper 1 or 2 years ago I would have probably bet my money on Swedish man from Finnland but at this point of their careers I tend to favour Teper. Helenius has always been an extremely wayward fighter.He lost fights to very mediocre opposition at the amateurs,and showed very impressive performances against some of the best amateurs out there.Helenius should have fought 2-3 journeymen more before he squares off against someone like Teper.He has been plagued by injuries and hasnt been tested against the very poor opposition in his last two outings to a box ring whereas Teper is on a rollercoaster up to the sky. Very interesting fight IMO.It will tell us a lot about both Teper and Helenius!:bbb
Oh, heavyweights [sigh]. It was laid to rest several years ago and rest is where it should stay... You guys getting hard over Helenius vs. Teper and talking about sure fire back in the top 10, etc. Boy, you guys would drool over Roman Gonzalez's resume if you had actually followed he and 105-112 years ago. And I'm just talking about you would be drooling over all the journeyman level wins he has, not his actual world class ones.
We last saw Robert Helenius against a world class opponent 4 whole years ago. He lost every round. Since then, he has defeated both 40 year old Sherman Tank Williams and 38 year old Michael Sprott by decision plus KO'd the 11-4-1 Andras Csomor and the 12-2 Beqa Lobjanidze. That's 4 years.
Helenius had a serious shoulder injury that he almost retired from in that match, as well as an elbow and wrist injury, I think a broken wrist in his next few matches. Those really aren't a reflection of his ability to be honest. He should've never been in the ring with Chisora due to the injury. His last two matches are simply return matches and he's looking closer to his old self. He is looking at fighting Teper, and then if he wins, against Chisora again, and then one of the younger prospects, before challenging for a title. I think that would more than warrant a top 10 ranking.
You are right,mate! You made some good points.Helenius has been plagued by injuries indeed.Thats why I just dont get it why the hell he wants to fight someone like Teper after only two victories over totally outclassed and overmatched opposition.Far too early IMO.He should have 2-3 fights more before he takes on someone like Teper.High risk,little reward for him IMO. Actually,from a busines point of view it is a truly stupid move to square off against Teper.I wil root for him but my gut feeling really tells me that he will lose this upcomming fight.Very risky fight for Helenius,and for Teper as well,but Teper will benefit more from a victory than Helenius will.
Perhaps my memories of that fight are a bit hazy but the way I remember it Helenius almost took Chisora out in the first round, hurt his hand and was unable to use it for the rest of the bout? Teper's promoter is the ex-promoter of Helenius, so they certainly believe that they will face the worst Helenius (like the one seen at the 3 last matches at Sauerland). Robert's father is convinced that they are badly mistaken. Seen Teper's interview, he seems like a very friendly person and I wish him all the best. He will certainly cause Robert problems if he manages to come close range. Not a religious person, but have faith that Helenius will win this one. Apparently Robert had very even sparring with Vladimir. Povetkin also gave Helenius a lot of credit.
Teper is raw as they come, and Chisora beat the snot out of Helenius, drop the shoulder excuse he entered the ring 100% fit and lost to the better fighter. Chisora will beat the winner comfortably