Robert Helenius wins by TKO on Tyson Fury-Deontay Wilder undercard

History repeated itself in a brutal way for Adam Kownacki on Saturday night.

Kownacki was stopped by Robert Helenius for the second time in two fights, losing by technical knockout at 2:38 of the sixth round at T-Mobile Arena on the Tyson Fury-Deontay Wilder III undercard.

This heavyweight fight picked up right where the first one left off, with Helenius teeing off against Kownacki, who looked lost and without any answers. He got caught seemingly any time he threw a punch and was backed up at the end of the round as Helenius unloaded.

Kownacki continued to come forward, but his face told the story, with both eyes swelling as the fight went on.

He got a point deducted in the fifth round for a low blow, and things got worse from there. Kownacki again landed a low blow in the sixth, and the referee stepped in, looked at his eyes and stopped the fight.

“I expected it, because what does he have?” Helenius said. “Don’t get me wrong, he’s a good brawler, but I’ve been fighting brawlers for 20 years. I know how to deal with them, even if they are hitting me low or behind the head. That doesn’t bother me.”

Helenius now becomes the mandatory challenger for the WBA heavyweight title, held by Oleksandr Usyk.

For Kownacki, it’s yet another setback. He had been moving quickly as an exciting heavyweight prospect, undefeated before he ran into Helenius the first time in March 2020. Now he has a long road back to contention.

Frank Sanchez won a unanimous decision (97-92, 98-91, 98-91) over Efe Ajagba in a co-feature matchup of undefeated heavyweight prospects.

Sanchez landed the cleaner shots from the start, with Ajagba struggling to find a way inside. The Cuban was clearly well ahead on the scorecards at the halfway point of the fight.

The fans were desperate for fireworks by that point, but Sanchez and Ajagba didn’t exactly deliver them. Boos grew louder as the fight went on, with Ajagba stuck on the outside and Sanchez cruising to the win.

In the seventh, Sanchez landed an overhand right and Ajagba took a knee to avoid further punishment. Sanchez appeared to land another shot while he was down, but avoided a point deduction or disqualification.

Sanchez figures to find himself in a major fight sooner rather than later.

Heavyweight prospect Jared Anderson made quick work of previously undefeated Vladimir Tereshkin in the main card opener, winning by TKO at 2:51 of the second round.

Anderson tagged the Russian with power shots. Late in the second round, he pinned Tereshkin against the ropes and teed off. Tereshkin stopped defending himself, and referee Kenny Bayless stopped the fight.

Anderson improved to 10-0, with all his victories by knockout.

Contact Jonah Dylan at jdylan@reviewjournal.com. Follow @TheJonahDylan on Twitter.