Anthony Joshua returned to the ring last Saturday when he took on Kristian Prenga.
To the surprise of many, Prenga floored Joshua twice in the first round and had the two-time world champion in real danger.
‘AJ’ fought for the first time since his controversial bout with Jake Paul, and it was also the first time he had entered the ring following the accident he was involved in last December.
When the Albanian opponent was initially announced, many fans questioned his résumé. Despite having an impressive record of 20 stoppage wins, those victories had come against relatively unknown opposition.
Prenga came through fight week full of confidence and vowed to upset Joshua for his family and the country supporting him.
The opening round was heading firmly in Prenga’s favour after he dropped Joshua just 20 seconds into the bout with a heavy uppercut in close.
‘AJ’ beat the count but was then caught again with a brutal right hand that somewhat mirrored the first shot Daniel Dubois landed to floor him in their 2024 contest.
Joshua did well to recover and make it back to his corner, where his new team was led by Iegor Golub and Serge Lapin.
Joshua spoke to the media after the fight and reflected on being floored twice.
“That happened in the first 20 seconds of round one. I got back up, took a minute, steadied the ship and came back in round two.
“Boxing isn’t pretty. That is resistance. That is hard.
“For me, I showed you in that round that I was in there with someone who is tough and strong. He is definitely a strong guy.
“I came out on top.
“You need to be asking him about his punch resistance. Don’t be asking me about my punch resistance. I am sitting here victorious.”
Joshua recovered superbly and scored a brutal knockout in the second round, marking a successful return to the ring.
A lot was made of his corner team before he came out for the second round. Some credited them for helping inspire the recovery, while others questioned their credibility.
Dev Sahni wrote:
I can see that the corner are getting loads of stick for this.
However, after listening to them, he went and won the fight by knockout in the next round.
Does the end not justify the means? https://t.co/aGW0IZMV3i
— Dev Sahni (@devsahni) July 28, 2026
“I can see that the corner are getting loads of stick for this.
“However, after listening to them, he went and won the fight by knockout in the next round.
“Does the end not justify the means?”
True Geordie offered a different view:
We need Usyk in the corner for the next fight, nothing would wind Fury up more and these chumps haven’t got a clue 😳
Make it happen @EddieHearn 🙏🏼 https://t.co/0cyjSwOjCO
— True Geordie (@TrueGeordieTG) July 28, 2026
“We need Usyk in the corner for the next fight. Nothing would wind Fury up more, and these chumps haven’t got a clue.
“Make it happen, @EddieHearn.”
