Anthony Joshua survived a huge scare on a night of carnage on his boxing comeback, rising from the canvas twice before knocking out unknown Albanian Kristian Prenga to pave the way for a Tyson Fury showdown.
Joshua was shockingly sent crashing to the canvas by a thunderous right uppercut within the first 20 seconds in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, as Prenga threatened to ruin the prospect of a long-awaited heavyweight showdown with Fury later this year.
The former two-time world heavyweight champion also took a knee later in the first round in his first fight since being involved in a car crash in Nigeria that killed two of his close friends, Sina Ghami and Latif ‘Latz’ Ayodele, in December, just days after his win over YouTuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul.
However, Joshua showed all his heart to dig deep and hit back in the second round with a barrage of heavy blows that sent Prenga tumbling through the ropes and the Albanian’s inability to beat the count ensured a 27th knockout victory of the Brit’s career.
Fury’s seventh-round TKO win over 46-year-old Mariusz Wach around 4,000 miles away in Thailand on Friday in an untelevised laid down the gauntlet for Joshua, who paid tribute to Ghami and Ayodele, wearing camouflage gear with the names of his friends on his chest.
An emotional Joshua said in the ring afterwards: “It’s what champions do. We rise, we get knocked down and we stand up and we keep going, that’s life’s motto.
“It’s more than punch power, that was spirit, that was Latz, that was Sina, that was the families. It hurts even talking about it. It’s been tough. They’re my brothers, but I don't want to talk about it.”
He was then forced to take a pause from the post-fight interview due to being overcome with emotion and allowed promoter Eddie Hearn to come to the microphone.
Asked about the Fury fight later this year, Hearn said: “We've signed the contract, everything's done, but to be honest with you, tonight is all about the strength that he showed to even be here tonight, and the strength that he had to show in that fight.”
“When you go down a couple of times in the first round and you're looking like your career might be over, he had to go to the depths one more time to get up and fight on.”
Joshua came out all guns blazing to finish off Prenga in the second round, handing the underdog a first loss of his career, but was full of praise for his Albanian foe.
“I also want to give a massive thank you to Kristian Prenga and his team for putting on a good fight. It means a lot to them, and it means a lot to me,” added Joshua.
“I think Eddie Hearn wants to sign him now. He’s going to do well, he’s got a bright future. I’m a serious fighter, I know what I’m doing. I know my way around the ring.
“Maybe with a little bit more experience he will be up there with the rest of us. But he’s a serious fighter, strong, durable, and he come and gave me a good test.”
Joshua also had a bit of fun at Fury’s expense, initially asking if he was in the room for a face-to-face confrontation and then jokingly quoting Mike Tyson’s famous “Imma rip his heart out speech” before his fight with Lennox Lewis.
However, the 36-year-old then became more sincere when talking about his respect for “the Gypsy King”.
“Wait a minute – have we got Tyson Fury in the room?” asked Joshua. “Wait, wait, wait, to more important matters – is he here or not? [When told Fury wasn’t present]. Fair do’s. Imma rip his heart out. I'm the meanest and most vicious champion there’s ever been.
“Listen, all jokes aside, there’s two sides of this thing. One is fire. You have to have that vim, that grrr. But also respect. I respect everything he has done. And everything that he has achieved. As someone who who has been calling for the fight for a long time, we're here now.
“Shout to Eddie Hearn for making these opportunities possible, and I hope the fans will be in for a lovely treat.”
The long-awaited ‘Battle of Britain’ will finally happen later this year [it seems] although the chaos of the evening in Jeddah almost consigned that fight to the bin before a great escape.
Additional reporting by PA
