Anthony Joshua survives an early knockdown and defeats Kristian Prenga by knockout in the second round—now the mega-fight against Tyson Fury is drawing closer
Anthony Joshua made a spectacular comeback, defeating Kristian Prenga in his warm-up fight ahead of the mega-bout against Tyson Fury. However, the Brit found himself on the canvas early on Saturday night in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
Joshua (30-4, 27 KOs) recovered from the early shock and stopped the little-known Albanian in the second round. Despite the early victory, however, the British fan favorite appeared to be well below the level expected of a future heavyweight world champion.
Prenga (20-2, 20 KOs) delivered a shock in the very first seconds, casting doubt on Joshua’s chances in his lucrative bout against Tyson Fury. With an uppercut in close quarters, he sent Joshua to the canvas after just about 20 seconds. The former two-time heavyweight world champion got back to his feet quickly, but looked visibly flustered.
Joshua found himself in serious trouble for much of the first round. Moments later, Prenga landed another hard right, but Joshua clinched skillfully and weathered the crisis. About half a minute before the end of the round, Joshua was forced to take another count. After an explosive opening round, his illustrious career seemed on the verge of collapse, but the bell saved him.
At the start of the second round, Joshua looked clearly refreshed and found his way back into the fight with long, straight right hands against a now-passive Prenga. With less than 30 seconds left in the round, Joshua unleashed a hard flurry of punches and sent Prenga spectacularly to the canvas. Since the Albanian was having trouble getting back to his feet, the referee stopped the fight.
With that, all eyes are now on the long-awaited heavyweight showdown against Tyson Fury.