Deontay Wilder sparring with 6ft 6inch heavyweight Robert Helenius to prepare for Tyson Fury’s height in trilogy fight
DEONTAY WILDER has drafted in the help of gigantic heavyweight Robert Helenius to help him prepare for Tyson Fury.
The American, 35, is set to face Fury in their anticipated trilogy bout on October 9 after months of delay.
Helenius - known as 'The Nordic Nightmare' - has helped Wilder overcome the issues of matching the Gypsy King's 6ft 9in frame.
The Finn is only three inches shorter than Fury and brings a wealth of experience into the ring.
British fans may recognise Helenius, 37, from his controversial 2011 points win over Derek Chisora or 2017 loss to Dillian Whyte.
More recently, he upset Polish-American Adam Kownacki and the pair are set to rematch on Wilder's undercard in Las Vegas.
Wilder was dethroned of the WBC title in February 2020 after initially drawing with Fury, 33, in 2018.
They were then contracted to a trilogy fight, but amid the coronavirus pandemic it was continuously delayed.
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So much so that Fury tried to walk away to instead face Anthony Joshua, 31, for the undisputed crown.
But Wilder took his right to a rematch to arbitration and at the 11th hour was awarded the verdict.
It left Joshua ordered to face mandatory challenger Oleksandr Usyk, 34, this Saturday before he can kick back and relax to watch Fury's trilogy as a fan.
He told : "I believed Tyson Fury could potentially do what he done.
"I just felt like, Deontay Wilder is a formidable ex-champion and has a chance to come back, but I just knew that when he gets to the top level, it will be difficult, because it's one thing getting there and it's another thing staying there.
"We've seen in some of his fights, it's been difficult for him and then he lands his punch and he's been victorious.
"But I always believe that when you go to war, you can't have one weapon in your arsenal, which was his right hand.
"Once that was taken away from him, which Fury did, I'm not going to go into tactics, but he was able to annihilate Wilder and expose him for some of his weaknesses.
"Fury did a great job tactically and I'm looking forward to their rematch."