Heavyweight contenders Robert ‘The Nordic Nightmare’ Helenius and Adam ‘Baby’ Kownacki weighed on Friday for their WBA title eliminator on Saturday night for their fight at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.
Not surprisingly, Helenius (29-3, 18 KOs) looked considerably slimmer at 238½ lbs compared to the 265 1/2 lb Kownacki, but that doesn’t mean his engine is as good.
Kownacki, who comes from Poland, is a high volume puncher and is capable of throwing close to 1,000 punches in a 12 round fight against stationary opponents. Helenius, 36, has made it clear that he’s not going to stand in front of Kownacki and let him wear him down with his high output.
Helenius wants to use his height and reach
The Finland heavyweight’s game plan is to stick and move, and not let Kownacki get close enough to land his shots.
“Stick and move,” said Helenius in giving his game plan that he’ll be using to defeat Kownacki on Saturday night. “The stamina has to be there, and I’m ready to go 12 rounds. It was a tough fight, and he gained a lot of experience, so it’s going to be a tough fight,” said Helenius in commenting on Kownacki’s match against Chris Arreola.
“I think so [that experience will play a factor in the fight]. I had over 250 amateur fights, and I’ve been boxing for 20 years. I’ve been a long time in this game. Try not to let him get close, try and do my business and try to do my boxing.
“This is my life and I devoted many years to this. I’ve done everything in the book in training here. I’ve made that mistake in the past in overlooking opponents I’m about to fight and then actually lose. So I’m not going to go that way. Jab and hard right hand,” said Helenius in talking about his best weapons.
It would be a mistake for Helenius to try and trade shots with Kownacki, as he doesn’t have quite enough power to hurt him. Additionally, he’s not going to be able to match Kownacki’s work rate the way Chris Arreola did last August in a losing effort. Arreola threw over 1,000 punches against Kownacki, which is an absurd number for a heavyweight, but he still lost. Kownacki is able to throw without getting tired, and that’s a rarity in the division.
The crowd doesn’t bother Helenius
‘I’ve been doing a lot of sparring rounds. I don’t know how many. A lot,” said Helenius. “I think he brings the volume. of course, every heavyweight hits hard. He’s a volume puncher, who breaks down his opponents by overwhelming them with punches. I’ve been so long in boxing that I can’t say it affects me in a negative way,” said Helenius on fighting on the road.
Helenius has done so much traveling during his 12-year professional career, so he’s not bothered by being on the road. While he has fought a lot in Helsinki, Finland, most of his tougher fights have come on the road.
Helenius’ toughest opponents:
- Dereck Chisora
- Dillian Whyte
- Erkan Teper
- Gerald Washington
- Johann Duhaupas
- Franz Rill
- Siarhei Liakhovich
- Michael Sprott
- Lamon Brewster
- Samuel Peter
- Attila Levin
- Taras Bidenko
Other weights on the card:
- Efe Ajagba 242.2 vs. Razvan Cojanu 265.6
- Frank Sanchez 222 1/2 vs. Joey Dawejko 247 1/2
