Robert Helenius Returns On March 17

Robert "The Nordic Nightmare" Helenius is to fight Yuri Bykhautsou on Saturday, March 17. The fight is part of the Yakuza Fight Gala in the Estonian town of Rakvere.

The Nordic Nightmare’s Belarusian opponent Bykhautsou is not high in the ranking lists, but he has a record that shows he is a tough guy with a good chin. In his last match he won against a two-time Russian amateur champion and he has not been knocked out in six years despite really strong opposition.

“The Russian champion was obviously expected to win but Bykhautsou surprised everybody. His boxing record does not tell the whole story, maybe he’s just missing a good promoter,” says Helenius.

“At this point it’s important to go toe-to-toe with a boxer that works in close and can take a lot of my strokes. I do not think it will be an easy fight and I expect us to go the distance. That way I can really test my capacity and convince everybody that I’m not ready to retire!”

If everything goes to plan...

Despite some training complications and the loss of his last major fight against British heavyweight Dillian Whyte, Helenius believes things are looking up for his career.

“If everything goes to plan and I’m healthy and it feels good. Then I would like to have another fight before the summer. I would like a bigger fight,” says Helenius.

When asked if it could be a quick knockout again, Helenius is in two minds: “If that happens then it happens... a stoppage in the first round may happen, everything is possible. But hopefully not, that would not give me what I need.”

Paf.com will live stream the Yakuza Fight Gala. The Gala also features a number of K1 fighters and MMA fighters. The broadcast begins at 19.30 on Saturday, 17 March 2018.