Anthony Joshua survived an almighty scare 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 within the first 20 seconds in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, as Prenga threatened to ruin the prospect of a long-awaited ‘Battle of Britain’ against 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, days after his win over YouTuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul.
However, Joshua hit back in the second round and a barrage of heavy blows sent Prenga tumbling down, with the Albanian’s inability to beat the count leaving the Briton celebrating a 30th win in 34 fights.
Fury’s win over 46-year-old Mariusz Wach around 4,000 miles away in Thailand on Friday 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.”
