Anthony Joshua almost saw his long-awaited fight with Tyson Fury go up in smoke as he survived an early scare to knock out Kristian Prenga.
The little-known Albanian had been lined up as a low-risk warm-up fight ahead of a bout with bitter rival Fury.
But he almost flipped the script by dropping Joshua twice in the opening stanza.
Prenga took his foot off the gas in the second round and paid dearly as Joshua came through crisis to render his adversary unconscious with a flurry of shots.
Speaking post-fight, the victorious Joshua said: “I can’t be stopped. I’m not going to be stopped, I’m not going to be denied.”
His attention then turned to Fury, who chose to fly home to the Isle of Man after his routine tune-up win over Mariusz Wach last night in Thailand rather than travel to Saudi Arabia to face off with Joshua.
“On to more important matters, have we got Tyson Fury in the room?” he added. “Is he here or not?”
Upon realising that Fury was nowhere to be seen, Joshua sent a message to his rival, mimicking a famous Mike Tyson speech.
“I’m going to rip his heart out,” Joshua bellowed.
“I’m the meanest and most vicious world champion there’s ever been; nobody can stop me. He’s no Alexander; I’m Alexander.
“All jokes aside, there’s two sides to this thing. One is the fighter. But also, there’s respect.
“I respect everything he’s done and everything that he’s achieved, but as a fighting person and someone who called for this fight for a long time, we’re here now. I hope the fans will be in for a lovely treat.”
Story of the fight
Prenga entered the bout with a shallow 20-1 record, built up against journeyman boxers and regional-level pros on small hall shows.
The one thing he did boast was power, with all 20 of his wins coming inside the distance, and he made Joshua feel it early when he dropped the two-time heavyweight world champion with a booming right uppercut in the opening 20 seconds.
Joshua made his way back to his feet on unsteady legs and was stiffened by a clubbing right hand moments later.
Another chopping right then forced Joshua’s glove to touch the canvas as a second count was administered.
Thankfully, for Joshua, the bell came soon after, and he got off his stool for the second stanza with real intent, boxing behind the jab.
Prenga, who seemed equally as stunned by his early success as the baffled spectators, gave Joshua space and room to work.
2
It proved to be his ultimate downfall, with Joshua backing him up and unloading a combination of heavy hooks to flatten Prenga under the bottom rope.
“He’s a strong guy, you know!” said Joshua of Prenga.
“I think Eddie Hearn wants to sign him now! He’s gonna do well. He’s got a bright future.
“This is what champions do. We get knocked down, and we get up again.”
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