“My heart rate rises to over 120 as I watch the previous matches of my potential future opponents!”
Kilometer from the center of Mariehamn you have to dodge two plush SUVs to get right to the door of a low-rise building in an ordinary industrial area. Inside, two men are sweating. A more raucous tempo from the ground and pumps irons from the bench, from which one can immediately deduce three-digit kilograms.
“There are now 185 kilos of iron in the bars,” explains the two-meter hujoppi in Finnish before the three heavy hauls.
“Strength training seeks sharpness, so maximum weights are not used,” the coach emphasizes Johan Lindström in Swedish.
“Speed is power!”
Robert Helenius ’training involves lifting weights.
Ivar´s Revenge, a Danish singer, echoes in the rehearsals Danheim viking music. After all, the hall’s star “The Nordic Nightmare” is perhaps Finland’s lonest top athlete. Boxer Robert Helenius, 38, has played twice in the last 27 months. Consecutive victories over the Polish Adam Kownackista keep Helenius on the eve of the WBA World Cup.
About Lindström became the coach of Helenius, who suffered injuries and was on a downhill career nearly eight years ago.
“My wife Sandra was born in Åland. We bought a summer cottage here. We moved to the island and initially lived in a cottage for two years when we couldn’t afford anything else, ”says Helenius.
Everyone in Åland knows the two-meter Helenius, but he usually only moves between 30 kilometers between his home and the training hall.
“I don’t mind taking selfies, but more of them are asked in Turku or Helsinki or when I leave here by boat. I am antisocial. I like to sit quietly at home. ”
When the match is in the binoculars, an Icelander will arrive in Åland at some point Kolbeinn Kristinsson.
“After all, Korona hits me in a bad gap. There are normally half a year between matches, but I had a break of almost 19 months. I had just gotten back on the world map to show that the son of Porvoo can still do it. ”
Helenius defeated Kownack just before the outbreak of the coronavirus in March 2020 and again in October 2021. These were the first losses of Kownack’s career.
“Somewhere in the gym in Brooklyn, New York, you can train a hundred boxers. When we went to the USA for the match, we were asked about our practice room. There was no faith when we said ‘Robben’ was practicing alone in the gym, ”Lindström laughs.
Johan Lindström (left) and Robert Helenius at the rehearsal room on May 9th.
Lindström shows a cornball in the practice room, which can be permanently placed at the height of the future opponent’s head in his own gym. The corona situation has caused two braking stages for Helenius’ training.
“Corona’s illness was less of a hassle than a couple of weeks of training caused by its damn vaccine. That’s when the fever went up. ”
Helenius is third on the WBA Challenger List. In addition to the WBA, the Ukrainian super champion holds the heavyweight titles of the two unions (WBO and IBF). Oleksandr Usyk. The champion who defended his title last less than a month ago Tyson Fury would qualify as an opponent for Helenius as well, but few believe the next match for Helenius will be a World Cup match.
“I think I’ll get the match by August. My heart rate rises to over 120 as I watch the previous matches of my potential future opponents! ”
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