JEDDAH, Saudi Arabia : Former world heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua recovered from two first-round knockdowns to stop Albania’s Kristian Prenga in the second round on Friday, paving the way for a long-awaited showdown with fellow Briton Tyson Fury later this year.
Fighting for the first time since surviving the car crash in Nigeria that killed two of his close friends in December, the 36-year-old Joshua endured a dramatic start when he was floored by a powerful right uppercut inside the opening 30 seconds.
Joshua was sent to the canvas again late in the first round but beat the count on both occasions and survived to hear the bell.
He responded aggressively in the second, landing a series of heavy right hands that backed Prenga into the ropes before the referee stepped in to stop the contest.
“He is a serious fighter, strong, durable and he came and gave me a good test, but this is what champions do,” Joshua told reporters.
“We get knocked down, we stand up and we keep going. That’s life.”
The victory clears the way for Joshua’s long-anticipated bout with Fury, who defeated Poland’s Mariusz Wach in Thailand on Friday after the 46-year-old retired on his stool before the eighth round.
“We’ve signed the contract, everything’s done, but tonight is all about the strength that he showed to even be here and the strength 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.”
