What to Know
- After being knocked down twice in the first round, Anthony Joshua managed to deliver a wild comeback win over Kristian Prenga by second-round knockout.
- Prenga put Joshua on the canvas in the first 30 seconds of the fight and did it again before the first round ended.
- Talk now turns to a fight later this year against Tyson Fury, with one key detail yet to be determined.
The hearts of boxing fans around the world felt an electric jolt just 30 seconds into the return appearance of former two-time heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua Saturday in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
- What to Know
- Joshua vs Prenga Fight Highlights
- Anthony Joshua Feels Both Joy and Sadness
- Joshua Avoids a Career Disaster
- READ MORE: Tyson Fury Stops Mariusz Wach In Sparring Session for Netflix
- Looking Toward Joshua vs Fury
- Hamzah Sheeraz Wins, Doesn’t Impress
- Josh Kelly Defends Title
- Early Joshua vs Prenga Undercard Highlights
After 42-to-1 underdog opponent Kristian Prenga came out of nowhere to knock down Joshua twice in the first round, Joshua’s impending fight with Tyson Fury seemed doomed.
Sitting ringside, Matchroom Sport chairman Eddie Hearn and Joshua’s training mate and friend Oleksandr Usyk looked as distressed as you might imagine, with Usyk up on his feet in alarm.
But Prenga couldn’t capitalize. Joshua managed to gather his wits, hurting Prenga with a hard right hand one minute into the second round, then drilling Prenga with a combination of punches, with a right hook flooring Prenga and sending him to the canvas. The Albanian’s first-round glory ended with him out cold at 2:43 of round two.
And so ended the most dramatic two rounds in boxing in many years.
Joshua vs Prenga Fight Highlights
Joshua of London (30-4, 27 KOs) was equally elated and relieved, laughing and smiling after the madness of the two-round fight, intended as nothing more than a tune-up. Prenga of Albania, fighting out of New Jersey (20-2, 20 KOs) gained respect for his effort, proving his doubters wrong even as he took the loss.
Anthony Joshua Feels Both Joy and Sadness
Joshua celebrated with his relieved team and promoters in the ring. But his emotions overcame him when asked about the moment nine months ago when two friends and members of Joshua’s team were killed, and Joshua was injured in a horrific auto accident in Nigeria.
Laughter and tears live close to one another, and the tears emerged as Joshua felt the emotions of his struggle to return to the ring while mourning his friends.
Of his rally on Saturday, Joshua said, “That was spirit. That was Latz. That was Sina. That was the families,” referring to Sina Ghami and Latif “Latz” Ayodele. Joshua drew a deep breath and paused, saying softly, “My brothers. I don’t want to talk about it.”
It was unknown for weeks whether Joshua would be able to return to boxing and whether he would ever fully recover both physically and mentally. Thanks to support from Usyk, Joshua found his way back to the improbable events in Jeddah.
Joshua Avoids a Career Disaster
It was another reminder that it’s boxing, and it’s heavyweight boxing. Joshua has been caught and dropped in his career, most memorably by Andy Ruiz Jr. in 2019 and Daniel Dubois in 2024. And it seemed it would happen again in the biggest banana peel slip of all time.
But it didn’t, and Prenga will be a memorable footnote.
“You know what I learned? I can’t be stopped. I’m not going to be stopped. I’m not going to be denied. We’re here, man. We’re coming. We’re coming,” said Joshua, offering his thanks to the fans and the organizers.
“You saw someone who’s been knocked down, been through a lot, but got back up, and that’s what life’s about. Let’s keep striving, man. Let’s keep pushing. Let’s keep supporting one another because without none of you lot, there’s no me. There’s no me, and I appreciate it.”
Matchroom Sport chairman Eddie Hearn is no doubt still processing everything that happened, knowing what a massive bullet he dodged. But he’s never at a loss for words on the occasion, saying Joshua’s victory was about showing the same strength it took him to stage his recovery and comeback since December.
“No one can imagine what he’s been through this last seven months. In fact, during that first round, I was thinking, we’ve come back too soon.
“But I said in the build-up to this fight, I feel like boxing once saved him, and he needed boxing to help him get through this. Camp allowed him to focus his mind while he was facing so much grief and pain.
“He’s a strong man, and he likes to deal with his problems on his own. I’m not saying that’s the right way to do it, but that’s his way to do it. And to even be in the ring tonight was astonishing.
“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 like he’s always done and like he’s done these last seven months,” said Hearn.
READ MORE: Tyson Fury Stops Mariusz Wach In Sparring Session for Netflix
Looking Toward Joshua vs Fury
It wasn’t all roses as Hearn was asked about the next steps toward the long-discussed fight between Joshua and Tyson Fury – who, for the record, was NOT present in Saudi Arabia.
Hearn once again pointed out, as he has frequently over the last few weeks, that the fight contract is signed by all parties and stipulated the fight will take place in the UK. Hearn insists the contract must be renegotiated if partners at Netflix and the Saudi financiers of the event continue to insist the fight take place in the U.S.
Count on the drama to continue involving Fury and Joshua over the weeks ahead.
The two-round thriller saved what was a long and lackluster lineup of undercard fights with very little to inspire the fans even a fraction as much as the brief main event did.
Hamzah Sheeraz Wins, Doesn’t Impress
WBO World Super Middleweight champion Hamzah Sheeraz of England (24-0-1, 19 KOs) got a spirited effort from mandatory challenger Simon Zachenhuber of Germany (29-2, 18 KOs). Zachenhuber had fought only domestic opponents in Germany for the lion’s share of his career. Nevertheless, he got very close on the scorecards, with Sheeraz able to gain just enough ground to win a majority decision. Scores were 116-112, 115-113, and 114-114.
“I’ve got the win. That’s all that matters,” said Sheeraz. “I could make a million excuses here, but I’ll be definitely better in the next fight. I’m sure everyone’s chomping at the bit now.
Sheeraz rationalized his performance this way. “I need someone who mentally is going to present a challenge … When you get too comfortable and you ain’t got a threat in front of you, I can tend to fall into them habits.”
Josh Kelly Defends Title
In a more spirited contest that was also far closer than expected, IBF World Super Welterweight champion Josh Kelly of England (19-1-1, 9 KOs) squeezed out a successful first title defense against Caoimhin Agyarko of Belfast (18-1, 7 KOs).
It was a rough and awkward fight, with Kelly starting strong, but Agyarko settling in and pushing back in the middle rounds. Kelly suffered a broken nose halfway through the fight due to headbutts. He managed to hang on to win by scores of 114-113, 115-112, 115-112.
“I knew it was going to be very tricky,” said Kelly. “He had a good game plan. I just had to show a different side of me in the end. Go inside, start taking the fight away like that, and that’s what a champion does: finish the game to fight hard.”
Kelly will need at least the rest of the year to recover, but when he does return, he needs to hold out and sell his title for the biggest payday possible, whether it comes from Jaron Ennis, Sebastian Fundora, Vergil Ortiz Jr., or even Xander Zayas or Israil Madrimov. Any one of them breezes past Kelly.
Early Joshua vs Prenga Undercard Highlights
Paris 2024 Olympic gold medalist Oleksandr Khyzniak of Ukraine will be fun to watch as his pro career develops. The light heavyweight won his debut with a knockout victory. Khyzniak has the buzzsaw energy of countryman Serhii Bohachuk.
Super lightweight prospect Nishant Dev of Kamal, India (6-0, 4 KOs) hopes to become the first world champion from his nation. He took another step with a second-round knockout win. Dev said he is realizing a dream and wants to bring a world title fight to India.
With just shy of 1.5 billion as the most populous country on Earth, Matchroom Sport chairman Eddie Hearn is eager to get a foothold there and hopes Dev is the ticket to making it happen.
Gayle Falkenthal is an award-winning boxing journalist with more than four dozen awards for both written and video coverage from the Boxing Writers Association of America, Society of Professional Journalists, and San Diego Press Club, where she is the past president. She is the only woman journalist who is a full voting member of the BWAA. She is the Boxing Editor for NY Fights based in San Diego, California.
