Anthony Joshua is still on the road to Tyson Fury but only after living through the worst round of his career.

Joshua was floored within 20 seconds by Kristian Prenga in Saudi Arabia, and dropped again before the end of the first round. However, Joshua steadied himself, reset and ended the fight with a brutal second round knockout.

The bout at the Jeddah Superdome was billed as a comeback and a tune‑up. It was Joshua’s first outing since the fatal car crash in Nigeria last December that killed his close friends and team members, Sina Ghami and Latif “Latz” Ayodele.

Instead, the opening three minutes turned it into a crisis. Prenga, an Albanian heavyweight with 20 wins, 20 knockouts and 16 straight victories since his only defeat in 2017, came out fast and violent.

A vicious right uppercut sent Joshua to the canvas almost immediately. Later in the round, a barrage forced him to touch down again, earning a second count. For a spell, the signed November fight with Fury looked like it might evaporate before it ever reached the boxing ring.

Joshua had to regroup

The minute between rounds was enough. Joshua came out for the second with his feet under him, his jab sharper and his defence tighter. He began to push Prenga back, landing solid right hands and short lefts, and the momentum flipped.

Now under pressure and backed towards the ropes, Prenga was caught clean. A big right hand, followed by a compact left and another clubbing shot, sent him crashing to the canvas. The referee waved it off, confirming a second round knockout and Joshua’s 30th win in 34 fights; his 27th inside the distance.

For Joshua, the finish mattered as much as the scare. It showed he could still punch with authority, but also that he could absorb a crisis, stay composed and find a way back. For Prenga, it was a reminder that at this level, hesitation is punished. His early success never turned into sustained pressure in the second round.

Emotion, grief and a clear dedication

The context around Joshua’s performance was heavy. This was his first fight since the car accident that killed his best friends, who were also part of his inner training circle. He was a passenger in the vehicle and has spoken about the impact on his life and career.

In the ring afterwards, Joshua made sure the win belonged to them.

Keeping his words short but loaded, he told DAZN after the fight:

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. It’s my brothers. I don’t want to talk about it.

Promoter Eddie Hearn has spoken about giving Joshua space to return only when he was ready, and admitted that during the first round he briefly wondered if they had come back too soon. The way Joshua responded in the second answered that question.

Fury and the November plan

While Joshua was fighting Prenga in Saudi Arabia, Fury had already done his part.

On Friday, the WBC champion stopped Polish veteran Mariusz Wach in a low‑key, non‑televised bout in Thailand, fought in front of a small crowd.

Afterwards, Fury said he would not travel to Saudi Arabia for a face‑off, preferring to stay away until fight week.

Now the bigger picture is clear, contracts are signed for Joshua vs Fury, with November targeted as the month of the fight. The venue is still to be confirmed, with somewhere in America viewed as the most likely destination, though Wembley stadium remains in the conversation.

Both men now arrive at that date off stoppage wins, both having had to navigate awkward moments.

Joshua’s tone on Fury mixed edge with respect. Paying homage to Mike Tyson, he said to DAZN:

I am going to rip his heart out. I am the meanest and most vicious champion there has ever been!

Then he flipped to the other side of his personality:

All jokes aside, there are two sides to this thing. I respect everything Fury has done and achieved. I hope the fans will be in for a lovely treat.

What the Prenga fight showed

Strip away the noise and the Prenga bout did two things for Joshua: it exposed vulnerability — a cold start, a chin checked hard, a career hanging in the balance for a minute — and it underlined resilience. He got up twice, adjusted, and finished the fight emphatically.

It also kept the Fury fight intact. A shock defeat would have wrecked the November plan and thrown the heavyweight division into another round of delays and rebuilds. Instead, Joshua leaves Jeddah with a comeback win, a live rivalry, and a clearer sense of what he still has left.

For Prenga, there is credit in the performance. He arrived with a perfect knockout record, dropped a former unified champion twice and showed he belongs at a higher level than his previous opposition. The result will sting, but the footage will keep him in conversations for future opportunities.

Next steps for Joshua

The scare was real. The recovery was sharp. The Fury fight remains alive. Joshua now waits for confirmation of the venue and final details.

The scare in Jeddah will sit in the background of every preview, but the bottom line is simple: he was hurt, he recovered, he won, and the biggest fight of his career remains on the calendar.

Featured image via Ibraheem Abu Mustafa/ Reuters

By Faz Ali

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