Adam Kownacki entered the ring on Saturday, October 9 with one thing on his mind, revenge. He suffered his first lost to Robert Helenius in March of 2020.
For Helenius, it was considered a major upset over the favorite Kownacki that night.
Helenius was able to box from the outside in their first fight and land a major counter right hand off the ropes, which wobbled Kownacki. After being wobbled, Kownacki was unable to recover as Helenius unloaded on him until the referee stoppage.
In the lead up to the rematch, Kownacki discussed his revenge and showing that the first results was a fluke.
“It’s do or die for me,” said Kownacki. “I have to prove that the last fight was an accident and that it won’t happen again.”
As the rematch began, things didn’t go to plan for Kownacki.
Helenius stayed on the outside in Round 1, while Kownacki landed to the body. Helenius unloaded on Kownacki towards the end of the round which seemed to bother Kownacki.
In Round 3, Helenius continued to box on the outside, while Kownacki kept a high guard and attempted to work the body.
In Round 5, a point was taken from Kownacki for low blow. Unfazed, Helenius unloaded big shots to end the stanza. Round 6 saw Helenius continue to outland Kownacki and box from the outside.
Seemingly out of nowhere, the referee stepped in to stop the fight in Round 6 as Kownacki connected with another low blow.
While it officially ended with a referee stoppage, Helenius was easily up on the cards and dominating the fight. He battered Kownacki and was likely on his way to a stoppage victory.
After the fight, Helenius spoke about his dominant stoppage victory.
“I was good, thank you for asking. Either way, it would have gone to stoppage,” said Helenius. “I had very hard hits on him he didn’t have any on me.”
When questioned about training with Wilder, Helenius spoke about the work.
“Good actually, because I had to stay away or he would’ve been knocked me down,” said Helenius.
When asked if he deserves a title shot with Usyk as the top WBA contender, Helenius kept it short and sweet.
“I hope so.”
