Robert Gabriel Helenius was born on 2 January 1984 and is a Finnish professional boxer.
39 Facts About Robert Helenius
2.
Robert Helenius holds notable wins over former world heavyweight champions Lamon Brewster, Samuel Peter, and Siarhei Liakhovich.
3.
Robert Helenius won the bronze medal in 2000 at the European "cadets" championships in Patras; he lost to Croatian Mario Preskar.
4.
At the 2001 Finnish Amateur Boxing Championships, in the super heavyweight division, Robert Helenius lost to eventual gold medallist Janne Katajisto in the first round.
5.
In 2005 at Mianyang Robert Helenius beat David Price on points but then lost to Rustam Saidov.
6.
Since 2006 Robert Helenius has been fighting in Germany in the Box-Bundesliga for Hertha BSC.
7.
Promoter Sauerland-Boxstall had bought an option in case Robert Helenius turned pro after the Olympics.
8.
Robert Helenius turned pro in 2008 to fight for Germany's Wilfried Sauerland.
9.
In 2009 Robert Helenius knocked out former British heavyweight champion Scott Gammer and defeated Taras Bidenko with a third round stoppage.
10.
In January 2010 Robert Helenius made the biggest step up so far of his professional career in squaring off against former WBO heavyweight champion Lamon Brewster.
11.
Many commentators wondered if the Brewster fight had come too early for the big Finn, however Robert Helenius proved his toughness and punching power by grinding Brewster down to score a brutal TKO in the eighth round.
12.
Robert Helenius went on to defeat Gbenga Oloukun on 26 March 2010 in Helsinki, despite breaking a bone next to the knuckles of his right hand.
13.
Robert Helenius defended his title for the first time on 27 November 2010 by beating Attila Levin with a technical knockout in the second round.
14.
However, Robert Helenius weathered the storm and soon began to find the mark with his trademark right hand in the middle rounds.
15.
On 27 August 2011 Robert Helenius successfully defended his WBO and WBA Inter-Continental titles against Sergei Liakhovich in Munich, Germany, by technical knockout in round 9.
16.
On 3 December 2011, Robert Helenius won the vacant European Championship title by beating Derek Chisora by a twelve-round split decision in Helsinki, Finland.
17.
The result was widely criticized by the crowd and pundits with Freddie Roach who was commentating the fight labelling it "just terrible" and added 'Robert Helenius was supposed to be the next big thing and the man to challenge the Klitschko's, but Derek totally exposed him and I'm being generous in giving him four winning rounds in the fight'.
18.
The Ring considered the outcome of the match "a gift", dropping Robert Helenius' ranking from fifth to sixth challenger.
19.
On 23 March 2013 in Magdeburg, Germany, Robert Helenius won his match against Michael Sprott on points in 10-round match.
20.
Robert Helenius returned to the ring on 21 March 2015 in Tallinn, when he faced Andras Csomor.
21.
On 13 June 2015 Robert Helenius fought against Georgian champion Beka Lobjanidze at Vaasa, Finland.
22.
On 19 December 2015, Robert Helenius was supposed to face Erkan Teper for the EBU heavyweight title, but Teper since cancelled the match and had to give up his title due an injury.
23.
Robert Helenius scored a clear and decisive 12 round unanimous decision; Rill was aggressive but Robert Helenius dominated proceedings with his jab and powerful counter punching sending his opponent to the canvas in both the first and fourth rounds.
24.
On 20 January 2016, Robert Helenius vacated the European belt after refusing to fight mandatory challenger Derek Chisora.
25.
On 10 September 2016, Robert Helenius faced German boxer Konstantin Airich in his home town Marienhamn.
26.
Robert Helenius finished the match in the first round knocking Airich out after 49 seconds.
27.
On 17 December 2016 Robert Helenius beat Argentinian Gonzalo Basile in 48 seconds in a lackluster scrab at Hartwall Arena, Helsinki.
28.
On 24 March 2017 it was announced that Robert Helenius would get a much awaited rematch against Derek Chisora at the Hartwall Arena in Helsinki, Finland.
29.
Robert Helenius commented afterwards that he knew the risks for accepting the match on such fast notice and with only a week of training, but took the risk in a need for money.
30.
On 17 March 2018, Robert Helenius faced Yury Bykhautsou in Rakvere, Estonia.
31.
Robert Helenius got injured during the match, but ended up winning by an 8-round split decision.
32.
On 29 September 2018, Robert Helenius faced Erkan Teper for the vacant IBF Inter-Continental heavyweight title.
33.
The bout consisted of Robert Helenius controlling most the fight before knocking out Teper in round 8.
34.
Robert Helenius lost the bout via knockout in the eighth round.
35.
On 30 November 2019, Helenius faced Mateus Roberto Osorio in Narva, Estonia.
36.
On 7 March 2020, Robert Helenius squared off against undefeated Adam Kownacki in a WBA title eliminator.
37.
Robert Helenius then faced former WBC heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder with the fight scheduled to occur on October 15,2022 at Brooklyn's Barclays Center.
38.
Robert Helenius was born in Stockholm, Sweden, and he lived in Sweden until the age of two.
39.
Robert Helenius holds both Finnish and Swedish citizenship, and has represented Sweden in a few matches after having a dispute with the Finnish boxing association.