Watford’s Heavyweight Anthony Joshua wins against Robert Helenius

Watford’s Anthony Joshua remains on course to become a three-time heavyweight world boxing champion, after his fight against Robert Helenius in the o2 arena last night.

He won after knocking out his last-minute Finnish opponent with one punch in the seventh round, and afterwards thanked him for saving the event, calling him a “massive success”.

He said that finding an opponent at such short notice meant a lot to him, as the Finnish fighter stepped in to replace Dillian Whyte after he failed a drugs test.

Joshua says a fight with Wilder would be great for the sport.

Fans hope that this victory will put him on the path to a showdown with Deontay Wilder later this year.

READ MORE

Saxon Earley was called ‘outstanding’ by manager Steven Schumacher after his late call-up to play at left-back for Plymouth Argyle in their 0-0 draw away to Watford.

Kaine Kesler-Hayden, the loan signing from Aston Villa, was not passed fit after suffering a foot injury in the midweek Carabao Cup first round tie against Leyton Orient.

So 20-year-old Earley got the chance to make his Championship debut, and just his sixth start for the Pilgrims since joining them in January from Norwich City for an undisclosed fee.

He was up against some talented attacking players for Watford, such as Matheus Martins and Ken Sema, often in one-against-one situations, but Earley stood up to the test and earned the praise of his manager after the match.

Schumacher said: “He was outstanding. He got drafted into the team late yesterday. Kaine Kesler-Hayden’s foot wasn’t quite right in the training session.

“I keep saying it all the time, people are in this squad because they are good players. We can’t have players in the squad who we don’t think contribute to the team and Saxon, I believe, is ready.

“He was brilliant. He’s struggling with a bit of an injury as well but he looked after the ball, defended the back post excellently and for such a young player to show that composure he should be really proud of himself.”