By Ian S Palmer
Dillian Whyte of Jamaica will be taking on Robert Helenius of Sweden in a 12-round heavyweight tilt at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff. Wales this Saturday, October 28th on the undercard of the Anthony Joshua vs Carlos Takam heavyweight title fight. The fight is for the vacant WBC Silver Heavyweight Title and can be seen live on Sky Box Office in the U.K. Fans in the U.S. can catch the main event live on Showtime. Whyte’s last fight was in August when he stopped Malcolm Tann in the third round. Helenius last fought in June when Evgeny Orlov didn’t come out for the seventh round.
The 29-year-old Whyte fights out of England and is a former British and WBC International Heavyweight Champion. He enters the ring at 21-1 with 16 Kos. He’s got a lot of power in his fists with a current knockout ratio of 73 per cent. He stands 6-feet-4-four inches tall and has a 78-inch reach. He’s boxed 92 rounds since turning pro in 2011. Whyte’s biggest wins were a third-round TKO over Brian Minto in September of 2015 and a 12-round split decision over Dereck Chisora last December.
His lone loss came against Anthony Joshua by seventh-round stoppage in December, 2015. He also fought Joshua as an amateur in 2009 and dropped him along the way to a decision win. Whyte, a former kickboxer and mixed-martial artist, has decent boxing skills, but usually relies on his power to carry him through. He’s got good size for a heavyweight and has a pretty solid chin despite his loss to Joshua. Whyte’s also beaten the likes of Ian Lewison, David Allen and Marcelo Luiz Nascimento.
The 33-year-old Helenius was born in Sweden and fights out of Finland. He enters the fight with a fine record of 25-1 with 15 Kos and is a former European Heavyweight champion. Helenius is a pretty good heavyweight, but isn’t very well known outside of Europe. He’s owns a decent chin along to go along with good power and can also put punches together with the best of them. He turned pro back in 2008 and has boxed 141 rounds since then.
Helenius’ biggest wins have been against Dereck Chisora by split decision in 2011. He also stopped Samuel Peter the same year as well as stopping Sergei Liakhovich four months later and Lamon Brewster in 2010. He has a current knockout percentage of 62 per cent with his lone loss being a sixth-round stoppage at the hands of Johan Duhaupas in April of 2016. He’s bigger than Whyte as he stands just over 6-foot-6 and has a minimal one-inch reach advantage at 79 inches.
Prediction…
Both men have the power to stop the other and will be looking to land something hard and heavy before their opponent does. If either of them causes damage they should just keep on throwing punches and try for a stoppage. Helenius has beaten some good boxers, but that was in the past. His recent opponents have been Grade B and that won’t help him. Helenius has more experience in big fights though, but this bout will come down to power and chins. This could end up being a bit of a slugfest and it’s a well-matched bout between two equally competitive opponents. However, look for Whyte to win the vacant belt.
