Finnish professional boxing lives on as small events throughout the provinces, but it does not move large masses, writes HS sports reporter Lotta Loikkanen.
Finland the crown jewel of professional boxing, or indeed its only jewel Robert Helenius is at the peak of his career at the age of 38. A Finnish hitman meets an American Deontay Wilder October 15 in New York.
Wilder held the WBC World Championship belt for a long time until he lost it For Tyson Fury in 2020.
The possibility of the World Championship belt was hovering over the match between Wilder and Helenius for a while, when its current holder Fury drew lots on whether to retire or not.
The World Cup match that Helenius craved did not happen, but maybe next time. In any case, Helenius has the match of his life ahead of him, both financially and in terms of his World Cup dream.
Professional boxing the heavyweight division is boxing royalty. The fact that Åland is going to the big rings in America at all is a remarkable thing.
But there aren’t many matches left in Helenius’ career. After that, there is a void in Finnish professional boxing.
The corona years disciplined the organizers and ate away at the motivation of the competitors. Even Tatlin The European Championship match was moved and moved, even the hand seemed to be broken in between.
Now nothing has been heard about the match plans.
Recently, several professional boxing events have been canceled due to skyrocketing ticket sales. Most recently, August’s Olavinlinna Boxing Night announced its cancellation due to financial uncertainties.
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When there are no interesting athletes, and no mentionable success, then surprisingly neither is the audience.
Finnish professional boxing lives on as small events throughout the provinces, but it does not move large masses.
The union’s activities also play a role. For a long time, the Finnish Professional Boxing Association insisted that professional matches of other martial arts cannot be held in the same events as professional boxing. At the same time, for example, Vapaatoletu has gathered a good audience.
Ten a year ago, Helenius filled the Hartwall arena, since then one could only dream of such arenas.
Before turning professional, Helenius had extensive experience in Olympic-style boxing, where at his best he achieved EC silver.
After turning professional, Helenius ended up in the teeth of the German boxing machine. It was not a good solution for Helenius, but certainly taught a lot.
Finally, the pieces fell into place in Åland. There coach Johan Lindström has fixed Helenius’s physics and manager Markus Sundman took care of financial matters. Helenius has been able to focus on boxing.
Currently, the professional boxing material in Finland is different. There are hardly any competitors who have a long Olympic-style career behind them, not to mention international sea titles.
There are no well-known personalities like Eva Wahlström or Amin’s Customer.
When there are no interesting athletes, and no mentionable success, then surprisingly neither is the audience.
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