Former world heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua bounced back from two early knockdowns to defeat Kristian Prenga by second-round stoppage in a dramatic comeback fight held in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
Joshua was making his first appearance since surviving a fatal car crash in Nigeria in December that claimed the lives of two of his close friends, Sina Ghami and Latif “Latz” Ayodele.
The British boxer endured a nightmare start after being floored just 20 seconds into the contest. Prenga, who entered the fight as the underdog, caught Joshua with a powerful uppercut before sending him to the canvas for a second time later in the opening round.
The two knockdowns left Joshua on the brink of one of the biggest upsets in heavyweight boxing, with his much-anticipated showdown against Tyson Fury seemingly in danger.
However, the 36-year-old showed remarkable resilience to turn the fight around.
Joshua came out aggressively in the second round and landed a series of heavy punches, with a crushing right hand eventually dropping Prenga. The Albanian failed to recover, prompting the referee to wave off the contest.
Watch the video below;
Speaking after the victory, an emotional Joshua dedicated the win to his late friends.
“It’s more than punch power. That was spirit, that was Latz, that was Sina, that was the families. It hurts to even talk about it. It has been tough,” he said.
The victory keeps Joshua’s hopes alive of securing a blockbuster heavyweight clash with Tyson Fury.
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