Boxing

GERALD WASHINGTON might just have the answers for the greatest fantasy fights in the current heavyweight division. After all, he has shared the ring in some shape or form with the best of them.
Anthony Joshua and Gerald Washington sparred in 2020Credit: Instagram @gwgallonegro
Deontay Wilder beat and later sparred Gerald Washington
Washington was beaten by Deontay Wilder in 2017 but they later linked up as sparring partners.
Similarly, Anthony Joshua recruited the 6ft 6in American for his camp before beating Kubrat Pulev in 2020.
Oleksandr Usyk, Andy Ruiz Jr and even ex-heavyweight champions of the past like Wladimir Klitschko have also called on Washington’s services.
And when he steps into the ring with Derek Chisora on Saturday night, it will not be for the first time as they sparred dating back to 2016.
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So Washington has almost experienced it all and lives to gush about the talent he has graced the ring with.
He told SunSport: “Everybody brings something different to the table.
“If you want power, you’ve got Deontay Wilder. If you want class boxing fundamentals then you’ve got Joshua.
“If you want ring IQ and hard work, Usyk is a crazy guy to learn from. And even Derek Chisora, what he brings to the table is all heart.
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“He comes to get it, he works hard and he’s a grinder. That’s a skill in itself, that’s hard to do.
“He’s putting in a lot of hard rounds for our entertainment, we’re grateful for him and that’s why he’s a hero here in the UK.”
Washington, 41, and Chisora, 38, provide undercard action for Joshua’s return on Saturday night at the O2 Arena.
But the event faced the KO when AJ’s initial opponent Dillian Whyte, 35, was pulled out amid a failed drug test.
Robert Helenius, 39, has since subbed in to save the day but Washington was also considered although later overlooked.
Gerald Washington with heavyweight legend Wladimir Klitschko
He has also sparred Andy Ruiz Jr
He said: “We were ready to go. We’ve been working for a long time now and we was ready to go to put it together.
“But, they chose Robert Helenius and we’ll get him next time.”
Joshua, 33, will step foot in the ring knowing he is one win away from a super-fight in Saudi Arabia against Deontay Wilder, 37.
And Wilder is a training partner and friend of Washington’s as they share the same coach, Malik Scott.
But Washington admits he would have had no qualms in taking the bout with AJ despite Wilder’s impending blockbuster with the Brit star.
He said: “I mean, s*** if it was going to come my way it was going to come my way.
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“If the cards fall as they lie, you just have to take it as they come. We were worried about what we’re in control of and that’s it.
“Now we’ve got Derek Chisora on the plate and that’s all we’ve prepared for.”
Derek Chisora and Gerald Washington ahead of their fightCredit: PA More

IF he were still around today, Henry Armstrong would be amused at those concerned about Robert Helenius being asked to fight twice in a week.Helenius, the bearded 6ft 7in Finn, has stepped in as an ever-so-late substitute for Dillian Whyte — who failed a drug test — to give Anthony Joshua much-needed target practice at London’s O2 Arena on Saturday.
Robert Helenius is set to fight twice in a weekCredit: Getty
Anthony Joshua is expected to secure a knock-out win over the FinnCredit: Getty
The legendary Henry Armstrong once fought five times in 21 days
Last weekend, former European heavyweight champion Helenius took less than three rounds to dispose of fellow countryman Mika Mielonen.
And while it is highly unusual for a boxer to have a couple of fights only seven days apart, in the 1930s it was commonplace.
Armstrong, only 5ft 5in tall, was a freak of nature.
He is the only man to be a world champion at three different weights all at the SAME time.
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He held the featherweight, lightweight and welterweight titles — and what Homicide Hank did in a 21-day period in October 1939 is beyond belief.
Criss-crossing America, Armstrong successfully defended his welterweight title no less than five times in five different cities. So what Helenius is being asked to do is really no big deal.
Joshua — fighting in front of a contingent from Saudi Arabia, here to finalise the details of his mega-millions clash with Deontay Wilder in January — is priced at odds of 1-16 and is expected to blast his way to an easy victory.
But we thought the same thing before his last fight against Jermaine Franklin four months ago — before he laboured to a dull points victory.
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Joshua knows Helenius has absolutely nothing to lose and he was a decent fighter 12 years ago when he beat Derek Chisora and Sam Peters.
There shouldn’t be the slightest chance of Helenius kicking sand in Joshua’s face and I believe he will have done well if he lasts six or seven rounds.
But when it comes to the heavyweights, I’m always haunted by dismissing Buster Douglas as a total irrelevance before he KO’d Mike Tyson 33 years ago in Tokyo — and he was a 42-1 chance. More

ROBERT HELENIUS will be thrust into the limelight for one of the biggest fights of his career when he faces off with Anthony Joshua. However, away from the ring the Nordic Nightmare leads a far more secluded lifestyle with his wife Sandra.
Robert Helenius has been drafted in to face Anthony Joshua on SaturdayCredit: Getty
Helenius leads a secluded private life with wife SandraCredit: iNSTAGRAM @heleniusrobert

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Helenius, 39, has been parachuted in to fight AJ as a last-minute substitute after Dillian Whyte failed a drug test.
His social media pages typically show him in work mode in the gym or during fights.
However, there are odd glimpses of his private life.
And these rare insights lift the lid on long-term partner Sandra.
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Helenius and Sandra have been together for 17 years.
They have three children together aged 15, 13 and ten – who the boxer exclusively revealed to SunSport he had to face the wrath of after cancelling their family holiday for the AJ bout.
Like Helenius, Sandra is reported to be from Finland.
Sandra is often seen ringside for Helenius’ fights, though it remains to be seen whether she will make the trip to London’s O2 Arena for Saturday evening’s fight.
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Sandra, left, regularly attends Helenius’ fightsCredit: Getty
They have been together for 17 years and have three children togetherCredit: Getty
Helenius was only in the ring LAST WEEKEND, beating Mika Mielonen in a 15th-century three-tower CASTLE located in Savonlinna.
The fight marked his return after being put of out action in just 40 seconds by Deontay Wilder last year.
But he had little time to celebrate the win as immediately a shock offer was presented in his changing room.
Helenius revealed: “Five minutes after the fight my manager came to me and said, ‘Do you want to fight Anthony Joshua next Saturday?’
“I thought, ‘Oh s***.’ I’m still sweating, had my wraps on. I didn’t know if I could fight. I said, ‘Give me five minutes to think about this.’
“Then five minutes later I said, ‘Let’s do this. Let’s do this.’ This is what we do.”
Helenius fought last weekCredit: Getty
Helenius has described the opportunity to fight AJ as an “opportunity to reclaim my dream” after admitting he had considered retirement.
And the occasion is not lost on him as he hopes to become Joshua’s nightmare.
He said: “I don’t know if this is the highest point in my career, it’s up there.
“I’ve been boxing for a long time, I knocked out Samuel Peters, Lamon Brewster, Sergei Liakhovich back in the day.
“I knocked out Kowanacki a couple of fights before the Wilder fight.
“So I can’t compare what one is the biggest, but this is up there of course.”
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He added: “When you have a really long thought about how your life is going and then it completely changes, for the better.
“I wasn’t thinking about this at all, I thought it would probably take up to two years to get back to this point. But, now I’m here.”

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FORMER boxer Jason Gavern feared the worst after agreeing to fight Anthony Joshua on just five days notice in 2015.Robert Helenius is in the same position as the American after he stepped in to replace the banned Dillian Whyte at late notice.
Anthony Joshua fought Jason Gavern at late notice in 2015Credit: PA:Press Association
Robert Helenius has agreed to fight AJ in place of Dillian WhyteCredit: Getty

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The Finn revealed to SunSport that he had to cancel a family holiday to face AJ, and Gavern felt similarly unprepared after his clash with Joshua was announced.
He told the Daily Star: “I fought him on five days notice.
“Eddie Hearn called me and said ‘hey, do you want to fight?’ I flew to London, we had a day of media and then I got a train to Newcastle. We arrived and I fought him two days later!
“I was in camp with Joshua a couple of times and he’s a great guy. He’s very respectful and very personable. I could talk to him and joke around. When I fought him in Newcastle he came across the ring and I thought ‘oh s***, this guy is huge.’
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“He had a different look and I thought ‘oh boy, here we go.’ He was a super cool guy to spar with. I was a veteran at the time, so I tried to give him some pointers and things like that.”
Gavern’s fears were realised inside three rounds as he was twice knocked down before Joshua landed a knock-out blow in the third.
AJ will be aiming to do the same to Helenius after failing to impress in his points win over Jermaine Franklin last time out.
Like Helenius, Gavern had suffered defeats to Deontay Wilder and Gerald Washinton in the run-up to facing AJ, which ended up being the penultimate fight of his career.
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🥊 Anthony Joshua vs Robert Helenius: How to watch, UK start time, live stream details 🥊
However The Nordic Nightmare has had a much more successful career than Gavern with just four defeats compared to 21.
Promoter Eddie Hearn certainly believes Helenius can give Joshua a test, despite many fans voicing their anger at the selection.
He said: “You go into the wild west of who wants it, who doesn’t.
“We wanted someone credible, who would come to fight, who we could do a deal with at pace. He’s had big wins and got chinned by Wilder. He boxed on Saturday and got a knockout.” More

EDDIE HEARN has revealed boxing bosses from Saudi Arabia are set to fly in to watch Anthony Joshua’s next fight. Because if Joshua defeats Robert Helenius at the O2 Arena on Saturday night, all systems are a go for a blockbuster with Deontay Wilder.
Anthony Joshua, Eddie Hearn and Robert HeleniusCredit: PA
Deontay Wilder is in talks to fight Anthony JoshuaCredit: Getty
Hearn said: “There’s definitely been a lot of work behind the scenes, months of discussions.
“We could get a deal done Sunday or Monday, but I don’t think that’s going to be the case.
“But the intention is to at least come over and agree a deal whilst they’re here but AJ’s got to win on Saturday.”
A December date was initially pencilled in for Joshua, 33, and Wilder, 37, but it looks to have now been backdated to January.
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That is because AJ struck a deal to rematch Dillian Whyte, 35, the man he beat in 2015.
But with just seven days to go, Whyte was pulled out amid a failed drug test with Helenius, 39, brought in as a replacement.
It is eerily similar to when Jarrell Miller, 35, blew his chance of fighting Joshua following a disgraceful doping scandal in 2019.
Outsider Andy Ruiz Jr, 33, would replace Miller and later stun AJ in seven rounds, only to lose the rematch six months later.
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But it ultimately KO’d a super-fight with Wilder, who instead would share a trilogy series with Tyson Fury, 34.
So Hearn wants to avoid lightening striking twice and insisted Joshua must first avoid another disastrous banana skin.
He said: “This is a bit different, if he loses to Robert Helenius, I’m not sure the direction we take with that.
“And whatever you think about Helenius, he’s an absolute lump and he can punch and he will try to win the fight.
“He won’t take a knee, he won’t not try and win. He will let his hands go until he gets knocked out. So AJ’s got to be switched on, it’s a big risk.
“But I still go along the lines of, if he can’t beat Robert Helenius, he ain’t beating Deontay Wilder. And we’re in these fights to win, not to get paid.”
Anthony Joshua and Robert Helenius ahead of their fightCredit: PA More