Deontay Wilder watched his friend Luis Ortiz lose live in the arena as the former world champion dominated an upcoming opponent in Andy Ruiz Jr.
The pair will meet in an internal Al Haymon eliminator for the WBC heavyweight title in early 2023. Both had to win their respective WBC preliminaries to make it happen.
Ruiz did her part and booked her spot on Pay Per View for the weekend. The Mexican dropped Ortiz three times on his way to a magnificent victory over a stubborn old warrior.
wildest deontay
Now, on October 15, it’s Wilder’s turn. However, he has a big obstacle in his way: former sparring partner Robert Helenius.
The lanky Finn, who helped Wilder through training camp for his Fight of the Year performance against Tyson Fury last year, is a surprise favorite of some.
A similar build to Fury without the flair, Helenius can be a dangerous assignment if Wilder doesn’t get his game plan right on the night.
Helenius is confident that he can prevent Wilder vs. Ruiz from taking place next.
“I feel very good and the training camp is going very well. I have fought many good opponents and have had a long career so far,” said Helenius.
This is of course a big fight for me. I have respect for Deontay. But I will give everything I have when I come to the United States.”
Robert Helen
Coming off two wins over Adam Kownacki, the man Wilder was supposed to share the Barclays Center headliner with next month, Helenius gets his big pay-per-view opportunity.
The 38-year-old believes he has learned everything he needs to know from Wilder in camp to pull off an amazing result.
“I am ready to do everything in my power to win. I only took two weeks off after my last fight. I have been training ever since. I know what it takes to win at this level.
“I promised my fans in Finland that I would bring the world title home. Sometimes you have to go through a lot to get there.
“But I’m going to do everything I can. We’re doing all the extra work we need.
“This is a big problem. All I’ve ever wanted is a chance to win the world heavyweight title. That is why I have continued to fight.
“If I didn’t see myself becoming a world champion, I would have stopped and found a much easier job to do.
“I am grateful to Deontay for his nice words, but on October 15 I will bring the Viking spirit to the ring.”
Deontay Wilder vs. Andy Ruiz Jr.
There is no doubt that the fans want to see Wilder vs. Ruiz. It is the biggest battle outside of an undisputed matchup between Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk.
Haymon expected the full WBC title to be on the line for Wilder vs. Ruiz if Fury retired by then. WBN understands that PBC representatives directed the situation through WBC President Mauricio Sulaiman.
Sulaiman recently said: “Deontay Wilder returns to the ring on October 15 to face Robert Helenius at the Barclays Center in another semifinal elimination bout.
“The winner goes against the winner of Ruiz vs. Ortiz.
“While all of this is going on, WBC world champion Tyson Fury is hoping his and Oleksandr Usyk’s promoters will come to an agreement for the first heavyweight unification fight of the four-belt era.
“If this fight is signed, Fury, our WBC champion, will face Usyk, the WBO, IBF and WBA champion.
When Fury changed his mind about vacating, all hope was gone. However, WBN now anticipates that the interim championship will be up for grabs again, if Fury still intends to hang up the gloves in 2023.
Wilder has to get past Helenius first to secure his place against Ruiz.
The views expressed in this article are the views of Phil Jay.
WBN editor Phil has over ten years of boxing news experience. He follows WBN on Facebook @officialworldboxingnews and Twitter @worldboxingnews.
