Tuomas Kyrö’s book Fist – in the ring Robert Helenius is published this week.
Johan Lindström (right) coaches Robert Helenius. JUSSI ESKOLA
Tuomas Kyrö cooks the doping theme fresh from the oven of Robert Helenius in a narrative book Fist (WSOY).
Robbe thinks that if he had been able to use steroids after the worst injuries, his recovery would have been years faster. Would have been able to fight for titles at a younger age and achieved the world championship earlier. Today he would be a rich and contented retiree.
Helenius, 39, has always said that he aims to become a world champion, but has never reached a title match. He fought as a professional 37 times and lost only five times.
– When things go wrong in Finland, you turn from a hero to a traitor in a second. The skiers who crashed in Lahti did the same as athletes from all other countries. They just got caught, Helenius says in the book.
– A hero Mika Myllylä still is, but after the cart he was cornered. I don’t want that fate.
Kyrö lists top boxers who have died. Helenius and the coach Johan Lindström share their experiences and views on the core of the sport.
– The promoters have their own ways of organizing the matter so that the samples remain clean. You need to know who is being tested and when, Helenius informs.
– The system is built so that anti-doping organizations, promoters and TV channels benefit from it.
If a pure opponent dies from the fist of a doupatu, can we talk about damage anymore, the risk inherent in the sport? What about damage to the opponent’s skull, internal organs, arms? How long can we continue that substances are prohibited, even though most people use them? Robbe and Johan answer that the use should be legalized. It is not their dream, but it is the conclusion of the reality within which they practice their professions.
– If legalized, it will be transparent. Everyone has access to professional doctors, everyone has knowledge of what each one uses. It would make the competition equal, Lindström argues in the book.
– People themselves have agreed on the rules for everything. It is possible here as well. You could go to the doctor without hiding. Pharmacy stuff, no crap from dark labs in Serbian basements.
Doubt
At the moment, Helenius has a d-doubt around his neck. He gave a voluntary sample in August Anthony Joshua under the match.
Helenius has denied that he used prohibited substances. He also repeats the same in a recent book.
The worst fear outside the ring comes true. Motivational problems, injuries, financial difficulties, transfers of matches, they have all been resolved. The stigma of the doping accusation is worse than all of them, the media hits it, the verdict comes before the matter has been investigated.
At this point, it is a deviation in the sample, not a positive doping sample, but that does not interest the authors of the headline. Newspapers want clicks, traffic to the website, talk and buzz around the issue and more clicks. This is part of the never-ending game where the individual boxer is a pawn.
The italicized passages are Tuomas Kyrö’s text from the book Nyrkki – kehäss Robert Helenius (WSOY) to be published on November 8.