by Johnny Walker
According to a report from Finland, heavy-handed heavyweight contender Robert “The Nordic Nightmare” Helenius is set to return from injury on November 10 in Helsinki against an opponent yet to be named.
Helenius suffered a severe shoulder injury before his December, 2011 match with Dereck “Del Boy” Chisora, and exacerbated the injury during the fight, which ended in a controversial split decision win for the Finn. He has been out of the ring ever since.
While out of action, Helenius underwent an operation during which a tendon was taken from his knee and implanted in his shoulder. He has been training for the last few weeks and deems himself ready to take the next step into actual competition.
The 6’6 1/2″ tall Finnish fighter was stripped of his European heavyweight championship while out of action: that title was won by current champion Kubrat Pulev in a box-off with Alexander Dimitrenko. Pulev went on to defend the title by defeating Russian giant Alexander Ustinov.
Helenius will likely test his shoulder out with a lower ranked heavyweight before he moves on to fights with Pulev and possibly one of the world champion Klitschko brothers. A rematch with Chisora has also been discussed. The boxer is also launching his own line of “Nordic Nightmare” sportswear in conjunction with his comeback.