JOSHUA CALLS THE LATE OPPONENT SWITCH “ANOTHER ROCK IN MY SHOE” IN AN EFFORT TO JUMP-START HIS BOXING CAREER.

A late opponent change for a heavyweight bout in London on Saturday, according to Anthony Joshua, was “another rock in my shoe towards the top of the mountain.”

Due to Whyte’s “adverse analytical findings” on a drug test, Joshua, a two-time former world heavyweight champion, was not able to face him at the O2 Arena.

Instead, Robert Helenius, a 39-year-old journeyman who competed last weekend in Finland, will now face Joshua.

At a press conference on Wednesday, Joshua faced Helenius for the first time. He explained that he agreed to the fight on short notice out of a sense of obligation to not let anyone down, including his promoter Matchroom and the other boxers on Saturday’s undercard.

“Late replacements are undesirable, yet this is the third instance. This is what happens, as we saw with Kubrat Pulev and Carlos Takam, Jarrell Miller, and Andy Ruiz Jr., Joshua remarked.

“These kinds of challenges will arise over the course of a lengthy career, so I just have to get used to them. Yes, I’ve got yet another pebble in my shoe towards the summit.

Joshua’s career has stagnated as a result of his three fights in the past two and a half years, two of which he lost to Oleksandr Usyk. With American Derrick James as his new trainer, who helped Anthony Joshua win a unanimous decision victory over Jermaine Franklin in April, he has attempted to reignite it.

Helnius engaged in combat on Saturday; he is acting morally. The best way to advance as a fighter is to keep occupied, stay active, and keep using your talent, according to Joshua (25-3, 22 KOs).

I fought at the beginning of April, so obviously I haven’t been sparring, but I have spent a lot of time in the ring. The closest thing to a fight that we have in Dallas is the ring work that we do. Shadow boxing is more than just punching bags. I’ve had a lot of battle training, so I’m prepared physically.

Although he recently competed, knocking out Mika Mielonen in the third round, Helenius (32-4, 21 KOs), an old sparring partner of Joshua’s, said he is not only in Britain for a pay day.

“I’m prepared for battle. I am here for that reason. Otherwise, I wouldn’t be here, Helenius stated after losing to Deontay Wilder in the first round in October.

I admire him because he fights well. It’s going to be magnificent. In Finland, it made headlines, and I promise to give my all.