Former world heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua suffered two knockdowns – the first happening after just 20 seconds – before recovering to dramatically stop Kristian Prenga in the second round of his comeback fight in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
Fighting for the first time since two of his best friends died in a car crash in Nigeria in December in which he was injured, the 36-year-old Joshua was floored by a thunderous right uppercut within the opening 30 seconds, and he took another count late in the first round.
At that point he looked on the verge of one of the biggest shock defeats in heavyweight history, with the long-awaited Tyson Fury fight hanging by a thread.
But Joshua produced one of the greatest escapes of his career, and now that fight is on.
He unleashed his right hand in the second round, with the final shot sending Albanian Prenga crashing down and forcing the referee to halt the contest.
“He (Prenga) is a serious fighter, strong, durable and he came and gave me a good test, but this is what champions do – we rise, man. We get knocked down, we stand up and we keep going. That’s life,” Joshua 36, said.
“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 choked up and stepped away from the microphone, before adding: “It’s my brothers. I don’t want to talk about it.”
There had been speculation fellow Briton Fury might make a appearance despite insisting he would not attend.
But the master of mind games stayed true to his word, with Fury nowhere to be seen barely 24 hours on from his own warm-up win over Mariusz Wach in Thailand.
Fury beat Mariusz Wach in Thailand on Friday in a fight that was not broadcast live on television, with the 46-year-old Pole retiring on his stool before the eighth round, and Joshua’s victory cleared the way for a bout between the two Britons that has been agreed for later this year.
Contracts have been signed, but the venue and date for a fight more than a decade in the making are still unknown.
“We’ve signed the contract, everything’s done, but to be honest with you, tonight is all about the strength that he showed to even be here tonight, and the strength that he had to show in that fight,” Joshua’s promoter Eddie Hearn said.
“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.”
This chaotic night, however, belonged to Joshua in a victory forged through adversity during the most difficult months of his life.
