Two-time world heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua survived two early knockdowns en route to a second-round knockout of Kristian Prenga on Sunday, his ring returning to pave the way for an all-British clash with Tyson Fury.
The fight, which took place at the Jeddah Superdome, was Joshua’s first since he had a car accident in Nigeria in December that killed two of his close friends, Sina Ghami and Latif Ayodele.
The 36-year-old became angry when asked in the ring about his friends and the emotions of the past seven months, but said his second-round revival was down to the power of his fists.
“That was spirit, that was Latz, that was Sina. That was family,” he said.
The fatal crash came more than a week after Joshua knocked out boxer-turned-YouTuber Jake Paul in a controversial Netflix-backed fight in December.
Joshua’s last appearance in the ring was his fifth round knockout loss to IBF world champion Daniel Dubois at Wembley Stadium in September 2024.
