Brandon Moore is backing Kristian Prenga to render Anthony Joshua unconscious after sharing some gruelling rounds with the big Albanian.
Moore, an American heavyweight with 19 wins and a sole defeat to Olympic silver medallist Richard Torrez Jr, has acted as one of Prenga’s main sparring partners ahead of Saturday’s make-or-break fight.
While Prenga has been selected to warm Joshua up for his long-awaited clash with Tyson Fury, tentatively pencilled in for November, the 35-year-old doesn’t intend to roll over.
Prenga has been waiting patiently for his big opportunity whilst building up a 20-1, 20KOs record against journeymen and regional-level fighters.
His shallow résumé means he opens up as a wide 16/1 underdog with the bookies.
Ruiz Jr faced similar odds before he stunned the boxing world by knocking out Joshua in 2019.
And after tasting Prenga’s power, Moore believes the little-known slugger has enough dynamite in his fists to do the same.
Kristian Prenga to emulate Andy Ruiz Jr
“[Prenga] looks really, really, really good in sparring right now,” Moore told Sky Sports.
“It’s going to be a pretty entertaining fight.
“I think that he has a pretty good shot of beating him, and I think he’s bigger than Joshua.
“Joshua just has a muscular physique, but Prenga’s a bigger man.”
While Joshua is an inch taller at 6ft 6in, Prenga tends to tip the scales around 20lbs heavier, recently weighing in at 264lbs.
“It’s going to be a tough fight, but I think he can catch [Joshua] the same way Andy Ruiz did,” Moore added.
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“This is AJ’s first fight back. AJ’s had a lot of stuff going on in his life – nothing but respect to AJ.
“But when you’re getting back into the ring, you haven’t fought in a while, that ring rust is real.”
Joshua hasn’t set foot in the ring since his knockout victory over YouTuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul in December.
A few days after his win, Joshua was involved in a tragic car accident in Nigeria that killed two of his close friends and left the former heavyweight world champion hospitalised with minor injuries.
The Watford powerhouse now fights in honour of his pals, Latif ‘Latz’ Ayodele and Sina Ghami
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