JEDDAH, Saudi Arabia — Former two-time world champion Anthony Joshua recovered from two knockdowns to knock out Kristian Prenga in the second round of a dramatic non-title heavyweight fight on Saturday.
Joshua was flattened by an uppercut inside 30 seconds. He beat the count but looked seriously shaken.
Then Prenga laid out Joshua again, and again Joshua rose before the end of the count and survived to the bell.
A quick end was expected but nobody thought it would be Prenga’s. Joshua unleashed a flurry of fists and finished Prenga with a right hook, sending the Albanian through the bottom of the ropes.
The turnaround shocked even heavyweight king Oleksandr Usyk, whose face ringside was caught by TV cameras.
The comeback also possibly saved an all-British showdown between Joshua and Tyson Fury.
Joshua’s manager Eddie Hearn claims his fighter and Fury have signed a contract to meet for the first time later this year, but on condition they came through warmup bouts this weekend.
“I hope the fans will be in for a lovely treat,” Joshua told the crowd about fighting Fury.
Fury played his part by coming out of retirement this year and on Friday forcing 46-year-old Polish journeyman Mariusz Wach to retire in round seven in Pattaya, Thailand.
Joshua almost blew his part of the claimed contract.
Prenga brought a 20-1 record with 20 KOs into the matchup with Joshua, and looked every bit the knockout artist.
Joshua was fighting for the first time since surviving a car crash in Nigeria in December that injured him and killed his friends Sina Ghami and Latif ‘Latz’ Ayodele. Joshua acknowledged his friends straight after improving his record to 30-4 (27 KOs).
“It’s more than punch power,” Joshua said of his knockout punch. “That was spirit. That was Latz and Sina. That was the family. You know what I mean? That hurts even talking about it.
“He (Prenga) gave me a good test but this is what champions do, we rise. We get knocked down and stand up. That is life, that is life’s motto.”
