Anthony Joshua almost suffered one of the most stunning upsets in history after Kristian Prenga scored two knockdowns on the former heavyweight champion in the opening round.
But just when it looked like Joshua was doomed to fail and his highly anticipated showdown against Tyson Fury would fall apart again, the British slugger recovered and came out launching bombs in the second round. With Prenga fading, Joshua unloaded a brutal right hand that sent his opponent crashing to the canvas and through the bottom rope.
It didn’t take long for the referee to stop the fight with the end coming at 2:43 in the second round.
“It was more than me that just picked me up,” Joshua said about the stunning opening round. “It can’t just be me. There’s a higher power that’s calling.”
While he was celebrating his win, Joshua quickly turned his attention towards Fury with his promoter Eddie Hearn saying the long awaited fight was already signed for later this year.
“Have we got Tyson Fury in the room, actually?” Joshua shouted. “To more important matters, I’m going to rip his heart out. I’m the meanest and most vicious champion there’s ever been. Nobody can stop me. Alexander? No, he’s no Alexander.
“I respect everything that he’s done and everything he’s achieved but as a fighting person who’s been calling for this fight for a long time … I think he fans will be in for a treat.”
Before he gets to Fury, Joshua first had to leave the crowd on pins and needles after the way the fight started on Saturday.
In a shocking turn of events, Prenga launched an uppercut that blasted Joshua and sent him crashing to the canvas. Joshua was able to get back to his feet but he was obviously shocked at what just happened.
Prenga stayed on the attack as he kept swinging hammers trying to put Joshua back down again. Joshua was potentially dealing with some kind of leg injury after the knocked as he looked unstable whenever he was standing.
Prenga blasted Joshua with another ferocious right hand that wobbled and put the former heavyweight champion down again.
Another wild exchange ended he opening round as Joshua smiled at his opponent before returning to his corner.
As the second round got started, Joshua was aggressive throwing combinations and Prenga was seemingly losing steam. Joshua backed him into the corner and unloaded several stiff punches in succession as Prenga was forced to play defense.
Realizing that Prenga was still hurt, Joshua came after him with everything in his arsenal until he blasted the Albanian heavyweight a huge shot that put him down and he actually fell through the bottom rope. As soon as Prenga hit the canvas, it was pretty clear he was done but the referee gave him time to attempt to recover.
A moment later, the fight was waved off as Joshua celebrated his comeback victory after he hit the ground twice in the opening round.
The win puts Joshua in position for one of the biggest boxing matches of the year with all signs pointing towards a showdown against Fury before 2026 is over. There are still some details that have to be worked out like the location for the fight but it appears Joshua vs. Fury is finally going to happen.
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