Anthony Joshua vs. Kristian Prenga live results, round-by-round updates, ring walks, start time for Joshua's return
Anthony Joshua suffered two early knockdowns against Kristian Prenga in a heavyweight boxing match in Saudi Arabia before mounting a comeback to secure a knockout victory. The fight was highly anticipated as a potential precursor to a long-awaited bout with Tyson Fury.
Why it matters
The result impacts the landscape of the heavyweight boxing division and the commercial viability of a future superfight between Joshua and Fury.
In heavyweight boxing, one punch can change everything. Rarely has that adage been as relevant as on Saturday, when Anthony Joshua got caught cold by Kristian Prenga, who checked Joshua’s chin with a right uppercut and dropped him just 19 seconds into the first round of their heavyweight bout at the Jeddah Superdome in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. For years, former unified heavyweight champion Joshua (30-4, 27 KOs) has been linked with his compatriot, Tyson Fury. And though they could have fought thrice already, a Joshua win this weekend was expected to finally tee up that long-awaited superfight following Fury's finish of Mariusz Wach in Thailand on Friday. But Prenga (20-2, 20 KOs) showed, with just one punch, that over-marination of a fight is in fact very real. Sometimes it's better just to book the damned thing.
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