By Ian S Palmer
Unbeaten Robert Helenius of Sweden will be squaring off against Johann Duhaupas of France this Saturday, April 2nd at the Hartwall Arena in Helsinki, Finland for the WBC Silver Heavyweight Championship. The 32-year-old Helenius enters the fight with a perfect record of 22-0 with 13 Kos while the 35-year-old Duhaupas is 33-3 with 20 Kos. Helenius likes to keep busy as this is his fourth outing since 2015. He last fought in December when he beat Franz Rill by decision to regain the European heavyweight title. Duhaupas is best known for his 11th-round KO loss to WBC Champion Deontay Wilder last September. His last outing was a 10-round unanimous decision win over Marcelo Luiz Nascimento in February.
Helenius is a good heavyweight, but isn’t very well known outside of Europe. He’s owns a great chin along with decent power and can also put punches together with the best of them. He turned pro back in 2008 and has boxed 127 rounds since then. Duhaupas has 185 rounds under his belt since 2004 and has won six of his past eight fights contests by knockout. Duhaupas stands 6-feet-5-inches tall so is one of today’s bigger heavyweights and also has pretty good power. He’s got a good jab and is quite mobile for a big fellow. He’s been stopped just once by Wilder and can also take a solid shot.
Duhaupas’ other losses were to Erkan Teper by 12-round unanimous decision in March of 2015 and to Francesco Pianeta by the same way in 2008. His biggest win was against Manuel Charr by 10-round majority decision last April. Helenius has been busy lately since he sat out for about two years because of promotional disputes and injuries. His biggest wins up to now 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. The champion has a current knockout percentage of 59 per cent while Duhaupas’ is 56 per cent.
Helenius is actually the bigger man at just over 6-foot-6, but he’ll have a 3.5-inch reach disadvantage. 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. If their chins hold out then this will go the distance and Helenius will have the edge here due to his better boxing skills.
Prediction……
Helenius would be better known if he’d been based out of America since he’s beaten a few former champions. He’s big and strong, but ranked number 23 by the WBC while Duhaupas is ranked number 13. Helenius has more experience in big fights and could have then better chin and more power. 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 Helenius to keep his belt with a decision or late stoppage.
