Robert Helenius has stepped up as a last minute replacement after Dillian Whyte failed a drug test. Is the fight still a PPV?
Anthony Joshua will not fight Dillian Whyte this weekend. Whyte tested positive for a banned substance last week and was pulled from the card. Fortunately, Robert Helenius stepped up to face Joshua, and the event will still happen.
The intended fight was a rematch between Joshua (25-3, 22 KOs) and Whyte (29-3, 19 KOs). They fought in 2015 while Joshua was still building his championship resume. It was a vicious fight with many dirty shots. Whyte punched Joshua well after the bell rang to end round one, leading to a fracas in the ring for several minutes as trainers and security guards poured in. Joshua then KO’d Whyte in the seventh round.
Alas, that rematch will have to wait. Robert Helenius (32-4, 21 KOs) will face Joshua instead. The two have never fought each other, but Helenius did lose a unanimous decision to Whyte in 2017. Helenius is perceived as much less of a threat than Whyte, largely due to his round one KO loss to Deontay Wilder last year. Because of this, the event has been downgraded from a PPV to a regular DAZN broadcast.
