Joshua survives early nightmare to stop Prenga
Anthony Joshua extended his record to 30 victories and four defeats after surviving two first-round knockdowns to dramatically stop Kristian Prenga in the second round of his comeback fight in Jeddah. The British heavyweight was fighting for the first time since a December car crash in Nigeria claimed the lives of his close friends Sina Ghami and Latif ‘Latz’ Ayodele. Just 20 seconds into the contest a right uppercut from Prenga sent Joshua crashing to the canvas, and a left uppercut later in the round dumped him down again, leaving the long-awaited Tyson Fury fight hanging by a thread.
Joshua produced one of the greatest escapes of his career, unleashing a crushing right hand in the second round that sent the Albanian crashing to the canvas and forced the referee to halt the contest. “It’s more than punch power. That was spirit, that was Latz, that was Sina, that was the families. It hurts to even talk about it. It has been tough,” Joshua said, choking up before stepping away from the microphone and adding: “It’s my brothers. I don’t want to talk about it.” He had carried their names on his chest and walked to the ring alongside his entire team in a quiet show of unity, while the canvas bore their names alongside the words ‘My Brother’s Keeper’.
Fury fight looms after chaotic night
Contracts have been signed for a fight more than a decade in the making, though the venue and date remain unknown with November understood to be the target. Fury stayed true to his word and did not attend despite speculation, having secured his own warm-up win over Mariusz Wach in Thailand barely 24 hours earlier. “I respect everything he has done and everything that he has achieved, but as a fighting person, we’re here now. I hope the fans will be in for a lovely treat,” Joshua said about the prospect of facing his British rival.
Promoter Eddie Hearn confirmed the deal is complete but emphasised the night belonged to Joshua’s resilience. “We’ve signed the contract. Everything is done. But tonight wasn’t about Tyson Fury. It was about the strength Anthony Joshua has shown just to be here. No-one knows what he’s been through over the last seven months. When he went down in the first round, I thought he’d come back too soon.” The bout is expected to stream on Netflix, with Saudi organisers and broadcasters favouring a United States venue over a British homecoming to cater for American audiences.