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Boxing
Anthony Joshua vs. Robert Helenius: Did AJ have an Andy Ruiz flashback after accepting another late replacement?
Watch Joshua vs. Helenius live on DAZN on Aug 12
The last time Anthony Joshua accepted a late-replacement opponent he became victim to one of boxing's biggest upsets ever, as Andy Ruiz Jr. shocked him toward a seventh-round TKO heard around the world. It was an upset that had "AJ" losing his three heavyweight titles, though he'd avenge it with a unanimous decision to regain his belts six months later in their December 2019 rematch.
That being said, did the former unified heavyweight champ have any trepidation about accepting Robert Helenius as a late-replacement opponent for Dillian Whyte this Saturday night in London, and live on DAZN?
"That was part of my process," Joshua admitted to DAZN's "Off The Cuff" on Thursday about considering whether or not to cancel the bout at first. "Because you have to learn from previous situations.
"But then I thought I had this situation when I was supposed to fight [Kubrat] Pulev and then I fought [Carlos] Takam instead as a late replacement."
Joshua wound up defeating Takam by 10th-round TKO in that October 2017 bout.
"There was an obligation and responsibility to make sure that the show still goes ahead," Joshua said of that experience and connecting it to Saturday night's fight with Helenius. "It's a mindset now. It's not just the realities. In my mind, I visioned and I said 'forget it, I don't know who it is, I'm going in to win.'"
He added: "I didn't [have to do this]. Why would I not go and have a fight on Saturday and give it my best and roll the dice? As I said, it doesn't matter about late replacement. Let's just roll the dice and get on with it."
