Former world champion Anthony Joshua needed seven rounds to stop stand-in opponent Robert Helenius in their heavyweight bout on Saturday.

Joshua, 33, looked ponderous in the early stages and the British boxer was jeered by his London home crowd. But he finished the fight with a thunderous knockout of Finland’s Helenius at the O2 Arena.

Victory kept Joshua on course for a bout with fellow former world heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder. 

“People need to leave me alone, this is my time in the ring,” Joshua told DAZN. 

“Let me keep doing what I want to do. Helenius, I told him to come again. I think he can cause people a lot of problems.”

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