Anthony Joshua reacts to fan boos during Robert Helenius win

The preparation for this fight was far from ideal with Joshua originally set to face Dillian Whyte before the latter returned an adverse finding in a VADA test and as a result was forced to pull out of the fight.

On just a few days notice 'The Nordic Nightmare' was brought in as a replacement, but fans were still expecting the former two-time world champion to make easy work of his opponent. 

It also did not help that Joshua's performance would immediately be compared to Deontay Wilder's clash against Helenius last year which saw the American win with a first-round knockout.

The early stages were rather uneventful with Joshua trying to establish his jab, but this cautious approach did not go down well with fans who began to boo during the third round. 

As the contest progressed, Joshua became more confident and landed a number of combinations before a right hand in the seventh brought the fight to an end. 

Speaking at the post-fight press conference, Joshua broke down his performance. 

"Not necessarily," Joshua responded when asked whether the fans had an effect on him during the fight with Helenius. 

"I think they don’t understand that it’s competitive boxing, we’re trying shut each other’s advances down.

"I spoke to Maurice [James] about that, it didn’t look as exciting when I was watching certain fights tonight.

"He said, 'No, it’s not that they don’t look exciting, it’s a game of chess. When you’re playing, it’s interesting, it’s a thinking man’s sport. From the outside chess is a boring game'.

"Everything I try and do, they will try to shutdown."

When it came to giving a reaction to the boos from fans, Joshua kept it plain and simple. 

"Have any of them ever boxed before?" he said. 

Following this win over Helenius, it is expected a fight against Wilder will be next in what could be one of the biggest heavyweight fights in recent memory.