British-Nigerian heavyweight boxer Anthony Joshua staged a remarkable comeback on Saturday night, overcoming two first-round knockdowns to stop Kristian Prenga in the second round of their heavyweight clash at the Jeddah Superdome in Saudi Arabia.
The victory marked an emotional return for Joshua, his first since the tragic December road accident on the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway that claimed the lives of two of his close friends, who were also members of his training team.
The 36-year-old endured a disastrous opening to the contest when Prenga stunned him with a powerful uppercut less than 20 seconds after the opening bell, sending the former two-time world heavyweight champion to the canvas.
Joshua was dropped again shortly afterward and appeared on the brink of defeat, narrowly beating the referee’s count to make it through the opening round.
The momentum shifted dramatically in the second round as Joshua came out with renewed aggression, unleashing a series of powerful combinations that put Prenga under intense pressure.
He completed the turnaround with a devastating left hook that sent Prenga crashing to the canvas, forcing an emphatic stoppage after the Albanian failed to land a single punch in the decisive round.
The victory improved Joshua’s professional record to 30 wins in 34 bouts, with 27 of those victories coming by knockout. It also became the Sagamu-born fighter’s 10th career triumph inside the second round.
For Prenga, the loss was only the second defeat of his professional career, having entered the contest with just one previous setback in 22 fights.
