Anthony Joshua knows better than anyone how quickly heavyweight boxing can tear up the script. And for a moment on Saturday night in Jeddah, it looked as though another shock was unfolding as the British heavyweight was dropped twice and wrestled to the canvas in a chaotic opening round.
But Joshua dug deep, weathered the storm and, after finding another gear in the second, produced a devastating combination that flattened Albanian heavyweight Kristian Prenga, leaving the 35-year-old sprawled on his back and bringing a dramatic end to a fight that had threatened to derail his comeback before it had even begun.
Although, when AJ’s hand was raised, the victory itself almost felt secondary.
For the first time since returning to the ring, the grief that he had worked so hard to suppress finally appeared.
The former two-time heavyweight world champion appeared, perhaps for the first time in public, to let the emotions he had buried since Latif ‘Latz’ Ayodele and Sina Ghami’s tragic deaths in a car crash in Nigeria last December finally surface.
Joshua admitted before the fight that he had spent months suppressing the pain of losing the two men – Latz, his strength coach, and Sina, his personal trainer – insisting he did not want to make their deaths about himself while their families mourned.
Yet, after completing the hardest comeback of his career, both physically and mentally, the emotion could no longer be contained. Joshua broke down during his post-fight interview when crediting his friends for getting him through the first round before quietly saying: ‘I don’t want to talk about it anymore.’
Anthony Joshua gave an emotional interview after beating Kristian Prenga in Jeddah
When AJ’s hand was raised, the victory itself almost felt secondary
Joshua was overcome with emotion after the fight, going from a euphoric high to an emotional low within minutes
For months after the crash, Joshua lived with constant pain. Simply getting out of bed became a struggle. He spent two months gently pedalling on a stationary bike before learning how to balance on a stability ball as he rebuilt his body from the ground up.
While the mental toll must have been every bit as demanding, if not more.
That said, Joshua and Eddie Hearn never liked calling this his ‘comeback fight’. Seven months out of the ring is hardly unusual for a heavyweight. He had never truly been away from boxing.
But in every way that mattered, this was a comeback.
Because making it back into the ring after losing two of the people closest to him was perhaps Joshua’s greatest challenge of all.
There were moments when returning to the ring did not feel important, or even possible. But eventually, boxing became part of the healing process.
And so, under the bright lights of the Jeddah Superdome and with Latz and Sina embodied on the canvas, Joshua walked back into battle carrying far more than the pressure of victory on his shoulders.
Prenga was never supposed to be the final destination. The Albanian was always viewed as the bridge to something much bigger.
From the moment the fight was announced, it was understood that the real prize was Fury later this year.
This was the tune-up. The opportunity for Joshua to shake off the ring rust, rebuild momentum and remind the heavyweight division exactly who he is.
That is not to say there was no danger. There always is in the heavyweight division and Joshua was reminded of that the hard way.
Prenga entered the contest with 20 knockouts from 20 victories and just a single defeat. The power was genuine. In heavyweight boxing, one punch can change everything, and for a moment it looked as though it might.
The Albanian dominated a chaotic opening round, dropping Joshua twice and threatening to rip up the script.
Joshua was knocked down twice in the first round
But Joshua recovered in the second round, knocking Kristian Prenga out
It’s anticipated that Joshua will finally fight Tyson Fury after both heavyweights won their fights this weekend
But there are levels in elite boxing. Prenga had never shared a ring with anyone approaching Joshua’s pedigree or experience, and once the former two-time world champion returned to his corner and received a stern dressing down from his coaching team, he emerged with renewed purpose.
Still showing signs of the defensive vulnerabilities that have haunted him throughout his career, Joshua nevertheless displayed the resilience that has defined his comeback. He turned the tide in emphatic fashion, unleashing a devastating combination to stop Prenga 2:43 into the second round.
When Joshua’s hand was raised, the emotion he had worked so hard to suppress could finally be contained no longer.
He had warned beforehand that he had kept so much inside. He did not want to centre himself in a story that belonged to grieving families. He wanted to honour his friends privately.
Instead, he pledged lifelong financial support to both families and vowed to continue pursuing the dreams they all shared together.
Yet as victory was confirmed in Jeddah, it was impossible not to think of everything he had endured to get there.
This was never just another win.
But there was one person missing: Tyson Fury.
Only 24 hours earlier, Fury had fought Mariusz Wach in Thailand, going seven rounds before the veteran Pole retired on his stool in a non-televised contest.
All week Fury had insisted he would not be travelling to Saudi Arabia for Joshua’s fight and, despite widespread expectation that he would make a late appearance, the former world champion stayed away.
His absence did little to dampen the belief that British boxing’s biggest fight is edging closer, but it denied fans the image they have waited years to see.
After so many failed negotiations, collapsed deals and false starts, supporters had hoped to see Joshua and Fury stand face-to-face in the ring for the first time with both men coming off victories.
But experience has taught Joshua not to assume anything in heavyweight boxing.
His long-awaited showdown with Deontay Wilder appeared all but set before Wilder suffered a shock defeat by Joseph Parker in December 2023 on the very same night Joshua won, sending months of planning into the bin.
The heavyweight division has a habit of snatching away the fights everyone wants to see.
Joshua wore a jacket featuring a medal bar with ‘Sina’ and ‘Latz’ pennants
Joshua honoured his friends, Latz and Sina, who were killed in a car crash in December
That is why there will remain a degree of caution until the AJ vs Fury fight is officially confirmed.
Joshua and Eddie Hearn have already revealed that the contract stipulates any showdown with Fury must take place in the United Kingdom because, in their eyes, the biggest fight in British boxing history belongs on British soil.
As things stand, however, Turki Alalshikh and Netflix are understood to favour Madison Square Garden in New York.
That means the contracts will need to be renegotiated.
The expectation is that discussions between all parties will take place over the coming days as they attempt to iron out the remaining details.
For now, Joshua’s focus was not on what comes next, but on what he had already overcome.
The tears in Jeddah were not for Tyson Fury.
They were for Latz and Sina.
