#13 Deontay Wilder is on the comeback trail vs. a revitalized #16 Robert Helenius who is looking for one last run at glory.
Wilder (42-2-1, 41 KOs) hasn't won a fight since beating Luis Ortiz in 2019. Since they he'd dropped two fights to #1 Tyson Fury, the first a big loss, the 2nd a back-and-forth classic where Fury was the last man standing.
Helenius (31-3-0) had suffered his third loss, to Gerald Washington, and was relegated to gatekeeper status against Adam Kownacki, who was undefeated and in the top ten. Helenius shocked the boxing world by handing Kownacki his first loss via TKO, and he won the rematch in much the same fashion, putting him in line for a bigger fight.
The two have sparred a lot, with Helenius playing the part of Tyson Fury for Wilder. Wilder has been ranked as high as #2, while Helenius was actually at #4 in 2011 and again in 2013. The winner tonight will be back in the top ten; Wilder was there just a few months ago but Helenius hasn't been there since 2015.
Two other top 100 heavyweight matchups were on the undercard:
- #45 Gurgen "Big Gug" Hovhannisyan took on #90 Michael Polite Coffie. Hovhannisyan won and raised his record to 4-0 as Coffie couldn't answer the bell for round 7. Big Gug will move into the top 40 as Coffie exits the top 100.
- #6 Frank Sanchez battled #99 Carlos Negron. Sanchez was fighting very aggressively but somewhat sloppily, which allowed Negron to stay in it with his jab. In the 9th round however, Sanchez connected with a solid right that put Negron down hanging on the ropes. He beat the count but it was stopped within the round. Sanchez will slip past Anthony Joshua to our #5 spot in our November rankings.
Wilder vs. Helenius round-by-round scoring:
- Both staying at distance to start. Helenius moving forward but not super-agressively like I expected, in Fury mode. He isn't trying to crowd and wrestle Wilder. Wilder goes for the home run but whiffs early! Other than that, he's keeping his distance. Wilder connects and Helenius pushes him back across the ring. Body shot by Helenius. Corners Wilder but doesn't do anything, staying away a lot more than I though. Wilder right hand counter puts Helenius ON THE CANVAS and it's over.
Wow. That was quick.
Robert Helenius chose a strategy that wasn't going to do anything but put him out. He didn't use any kind of strategy that could have worked. He stayed at distance: punching distance for Wilder's long arms.
And let's be clear: this fight had KO written all over it, sooner or later. I thought it would last to the 7th round (wishful thinking for an interesting fight). Helenius is the perfect opponent for Wilder, from Wilder's standpoint.
Wilder is back in our top ten, and deservedly so. A lot of his decline in our rankings was the lack of a "W" since 2019. He'll be around #7 come November. Helenius had his resurgence but he'll drop well outside the top 25. His short-lived comeback might be over for good; if he continues he'll remain at the gatekeeper level, unless he exposes another Kownacki along the way.
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