Stepping in on less than a week's notice as a late replacement, Robert Helenius will certainly enter the O2 Arena in London on Saturday as an underdog against Anthony Joshua.
But the veteran boxer, nicknamed "The Nordic Nightmare," can at least take some solace in knowing that he has pulled off an upset before.
In fact, it wasn't too long ago. Back in March 2020, Helenius (then 29-3 with 18 KOs) stepped into the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York to take on undefeated Adam Kownacki (20-0, 15 KOs). At the time, Kownacki was even garnering consideration toward a world title opportunity.
Helenius, the older fighter with more miles on the clock, was installed as the underdog.
Yet, that tag didn't deter him from nailing Kownacki with thumping, yet pointed shots early on. In the fourth round, Helenius dropped Kownacki and even though it was ruled as a slip, "The Nordic Nightmare" sensed that he had his opponent hurt. And he was right. Moments later, Helenius unleashed a simple right-left combination, which dropped Kownacki flat on his back.
Though the Polish fighter got back on his feet, he was greeted with a deluge of unanswered punches, prompting the referee to step in and stop the fight as Helenius roared to a fourth-round TKO in one of the biggest upsets of his career.
A rematch took place October 2021, though Helenius made sure that Kownacki would suffer a similar fate. Early on, it was evident that Helenius was once again the stronger puncher and after damaging Kownacki's eyesight, Kownacki resorted to several low blows to earn himself a disqualification. The result was later changed to a technical knockout.
Helenius would use the pair of victories over Kownacki to gain a crack at Deontay Wilder the following year.