The win for Joshua meant he kept himself on track for a lucrative payday against American Deontay Wilder next year.

Helenius, stepping in after Britain’s Dillian Whyte was ruled out of the non-title fight by a dope test a week ago, lasted longer than expected.

But he crashed to the canvas one minute and 27 seconds into the round.

Some of the crowd at London’s 02, who had grown restless with some booing already in the third round, were heading for the exit by then as Joshua failed to deliver immediate fireworks.

The big Briton looked nervous and stiff at the start and strangely tentative when Helenius, who fought in Finland only a week ago, appeared to be out on his legs and ready for the taking.

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Joshua climbed straight out of the ring without saying a word after referee Victor Loughlin stopped the contest.

He then fist-bumped fans, stopping to share a swig of a drink with watching former UFC champion Conor McGregor, before stepping back inside the ropes.

Helenius meanwhile received medical attention and some oxygen before getting back on his feet.

“I knew this would happen, everyone’s talking about the new AJ and the old AJ.

“And after two or three rounds the crowd starts to get a little bit impatient.

“He finds the measure of his right hand and he delivers one of the knockouts of the year on Robert Helenius… this is just the AJ you’re going to see now.

“He still got to be more aggressive than we saw tonight but there’s a lot on the line,” Joshua’s promoter, Eddie Hearn, told reporters.

The knockout was the 23rd of Joshua’s career, taking his record to 26 wins and three defeats, but his first since December 2020.

This was when he beat Bulgarian Kubrat Pulev in a WBA, IBO, IBF and WBO title defence in London.

Joshua lost those belts to Ukraine’s Oleksandr Usyk in September 2021.

There has been talk of Joshua fighting Wilder, the former WBC champion, next year.

But the Briton needs to keep winning to be talked about in the same breath as the American and reigning champion, Tyson Fury.

“It’s hard for him to get up for fights like this. The Wilder fights, the Fury fights, that’s what he wants,” said Hearn.

Source: Reuters/NAN

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Joshua’s promoter Eddie Hearn, who announced this moments after the loss to Oleksandr Usyk of Ukraine on Saturday in London, said also that his fighter was “devastated” by the defeat.

He however acknowledged that the Joshua camp had no reservations about the result, and the better fighter won the bout.

“Congratulations to Oleksandr Usyk. What a fighter. He put in a great performance and the better man won,” Hearn said.

“I had it reasonably close in the eighth and then Usyk ran away with it.”

Usyk dethroned Joshua in his own backyard with a stunning display to earn a unanimous points decision in front of a sell-out crowd at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

The 34-year-old former undisputed cruiserweight world champion put on a masterclass to silence the vast majority of the 67,000 fans who packed into the huge arena.

Usyk, giving away height, weight and reach to the champion, proved too elusive for Joshua throughout an enthralling contest and landed the much cleaner shots.

He finished with a flurry in round 12 as he went in search of a knockout.

Joshua stayed upright but the decision was a formality as Usyk seized the WBA, WBO, IBF and IBO belts with the three judges scoring it 117-112, 116-112, 115-113.

Former Olympic champion Usyk, contesting only his third professional heavyweight fight, follows in the footsteps of compatriots Wladimir and Vitali Klitschko.

The Klitschko Brothers dominated the division for a decade from 2004 to 2015.

He is only the third cruiserweight world champion to step up a weight and become the heavyweight world champion after Evander Holyfield and David Haye.

For Joshua, a second career defeat was a crushing blow and scuppered hopes of a unification showdown with fellow Briton Tyson Fury, the WBC title holder.

Fury takes on American Deontay Wilder in Las Vegas on October 9.

Even the most diehard Joshua fans had to concede their man had been schooled by a skillful craftsman who rarely looked ruffled even when sustaining a cut above his eye late on.

Joshua gave the crowd little to cheer and ran out of ideas against his southpaw opponent who was ahead throughout.

A sensational atmosphere greeted the fighters as they made the long walk to the ring, with the crowd in full cry and fireworks blasting into the sky.

But from the first bell, Joshua appeared unsure whether to try to overpower his opponent or outbox him — failing miserably at both.

A nervous hush descended on the stadium in the opening rounds as Usyk’s threat became all too apparent.

Constantly on the move, he rocked Joshua in the third with a powerful left hand.

Usyk retained control in the following rounds as Joshua failed to unleash his supposed superior power and the Londoner was in big trouble again in the seventh round as he was sent staggering backwards by a big left hook.

A nick appeared above Usyk’s eye in the 10th round but Joshua’s face was showing signs of battle damage.

Joshua needed a knockout to retain his belts but it was Usyk who came closest with a ferocious attack at the end of the 12th which left the Briton reeling.

Even before the official result was announced, some Joshua fans were heading for the exits while Usyk’s followers were just getting the party started.

Joshua later took to Twitter, saying: “Keep positive even if the world’s crumbling in front of you! London I love you and thank you each and every time!”

Source: Reuters/NAN

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