Saturday night sees boxers with two very different careers step into the ring together.
For Deontay Wilder, five of his last six fights have been against either Tyson Fury or Luis Ortiz, both well known heavyweights in the top echelon of the sport. Despite being competitive, the American lost two and drew one fight against Fury meaning his career is in need of a rebuild. For Wilder, a fight against Helenius represents a significant step down in competition for him after contesting title fights repeatedly over the last four years.
Robert Helenius, on the other hand, is fighting in the biggest match of his life. The Nordic Nightmare has not yet fought a boxer of Wilder’s caliber with his toughest fight coming against Dillian Whyte five years ago, which he lost. Such is the gap between these two boxers that Helenius’s last fight was in the under card of Wilder’s last fight.
With such different stories heading into this bout, can Helenius be competitive? Bookmaker William Hill has the fight odds.
※ Current Odds Date & Time: October 15th, 12:00 A.M. (EST)
Given the gap between these two, some would say that odds of 7.00 for Robert Helenius to win are reasonably generous. There’s no doubting that Deontay Wilder is the overwhelming favourite with William Hill paying odds of 1.11 for the American to win.
Looking further at William Hill’s odds, while there is some recognition that Wilder is coming off back-to-back defeats and Helenius is on a three fight winning streak, the odds are still heavily towards Wilder. It’s rare that odds of 1.20 are offered for a knockout in heavyweight boxing, and yet that is the most likely method of victory in this bout, and what the bookies are willing to pay for a bet on Wilder knocking out Helenius.
In fact, all other methods of victory are looking quite unlikely with even a Wilder decision sitting at 7.50 while Helenius is 9.50 for a knockout win.
※ Current Odds Date & Time: October 15th, 12:00 A.M. (EST)
Chances are a knockout is what Helenius will require if he is to walk away victorious here. While greater upsets have occurred in heavyweight boxing in recent years (read: Andy Ruiz Jr.), the reality is that Wilder outclasses Helenius in all aspects of boxing.
Expect Helenius to be out of his depth in this one and come out swinging in an admirable attempt to be competitive before gassing out and conceding a knockout in the early-to-mid stage of this fight.
Fight Details:
- Date: October 15th 2022
- Time: From 7:00 p.m. (EST)
- Venue: Barclays Centre, Brooklyn, New York
