Former two-time unified heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua pulled off a dramatic knockout win against Kristian Prenga on Saturday in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
Joshua survived two knockdowns in the first round before flattening Prenga with a huge right hand in the second. The finish came at the 2:43 mark of the round.
WHAT. JUST. HAPPENED.
— Def Pen Sports (@DefPenSports) July 25, 2026
🤯 After being knocked down twice in the first round, Anthony Joshua scores a dramatic knockout in the second round.
Is a fight with Tyson Fury next? #JoshuaPrengapic.twitter.com/tFSodtq4lk
Joshua's win likely sets up a long-awaited fight against former WBC heavyweight champion Tyson Fury later this year. Fury stepped into the ring Friday, defeating Mariusz Wach by seventh-round TKO in his own tuneup fight in Thailand. Joshua and Fury have been on a collision course for years and have already signed contracts for a fight in late 2026, though the matchup isn't finalized.
"I respect everything (Fury's) done and everything that he's achieved, but as a fighting person and as someone who's been calling for this fight for a long time, we're here now," Joshua said in his postfight interview. "I hope the fans will be in for a lovely treat."
However, Prenga was on the verge of ruining Fury-Joshua and pulling off one of the biggest upsets in boxing history early in Saturday's main event. He dropped Joshua with an uppercut 20 seconds into the fight, continued to wobble him, and then scored another knockdown later in the round.
But Joshua turned the tide in the second round, marching Prenga down and landing punches. He staggered Prenga with a right hand, landed a few more shots, and then floored him for good with another right.
"He's a serious fighter," Joshua said of Prenga. "Strong, durable, and (he) came and gave me a good test. But this is what champions do. We rise, man. We knocked down, stand up, and we keep going. That's life."
Joshua returned to the ring for the first time since a sixth-round knockout of Jake Paul in a blockbuster bout last December. It was his first appearance since being involved in a car accident in Nigeria less than two weeks after his win over Paul. Joshua's friends, Sina Ghami and Latif "Latz" Ayodele, died in the crash.
"It's been tough," Joshua said of the past seven months and his decision to continue his career after the tragedy. "They're my brothers. But I don't want to talk about it."
Joshua, a 36-year-old Englishman, is now riding a two-fight winning streak and is 6-1 in his last seven outings.
Prenga, a 35-year-old Albanian, suffered the first knockout loss of his career, falling to 20-2 as a pro.
