Anthony Joshua's road back to the heavyweight summit nearly ended before it truly began. Fighting for the first time since surviving a horror car c
Anthony Joshua’s road back to the heavyweight summit nearly ended before it truly began.
Fighting for the first time since surviving a horror car crash last December that killed two of his close friends, the former two-time world champion was sent crashing to the canvas just seconds into his clash with unbeaten Albanian puncher Kristian Prenga in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
A vicious right uppercut from Prenga floored Joshua only 19 seconds into the opening round, stunning the Jeddah Superdome crowd and briefly threatening the biggest comeback story of his career.
Joshua, however, showed the resolve that has defined his championship pedigree, climbing off the canvas twice in the first round before turning the fight decisively in his favour.
Prenga, who had built his unbeaten record entirely on knockouts, looked set to spring one of the sport’s great upsets before Joshua’s power and composure took over.
By the second round, the Briton had found his range and rhythm, unloading a barrage of heavy right hands that ultimately overwhelmed his previously undefeated opponent and brought the contest to a dramatic close.
The victory, emotional as much as it was physical, sets up the long-awaited domestic super-fight against Tyson Fury, who himself impressed a night earlier with a seventh-round stoppage of Mariusz Wach in Thailand.
Speaking after the bout, Joshua dedicated the win to his late friends, insisting that willpower had carried him through more than raw punching power.
With both former unified champions now cleared for their long-mooted showdown, British boxing fans finally have a firm date to look forward to as Joshua and Fury prepare to settle their rivalry inside the ring later this year.
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