On Saturday, former world champion Anthony Joshua needed seven rounds to defeat stand-in opponent Robert Helenius in the seventh round of their heavyweight match.
Dillian Whyte was ruled out of what would have been an all-British bout due to “adverse analytical findings” in a drug test, so Helenius was pushed in after fighting in Finland last weekend.
Helenius, 39, entered the ring with 32 wins and four losses from 36 professional fights before being knocked out in the first round by Deontay Wilder in October.
He averted a repetition of that humiliating defeat on Saturday, however boos broke out from a packed audience at London’s O2 Arena during the third round when Joshua made a cautious start.
Joshua, however, landed with a left hook and then hit Helenius with a right to the face later in the round.
The local hero rocked Helenius again in the fourth before the Finnish veteran caught Joshua with a jab.
But the fifth round left Helenius with a bloodied nose and although Joshua made him stumble with a left uppercut, he survived and got through an uneventful sixth round.
Joshua did give his fans what they came to see when he knocked out Helenius with a powerful right-hand punch in the seventh.
