RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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See the full story · 3 sourcesAnthony Joshua has offered a unique take on his struggles against Kristian Prenga , saying the nature of his performance has left him feeling “unstoppable”.
On Saturday, Joshua was dropped by Prenga in the opening 20 seconds in Saudi Arabia, before the Albanian unknown scored another knockdown of “AJ” later in the first round. Yet Joshua bounced back to score a second-round knockout and preserve his planned fight with Tyson Fury later this year.
And while many fans will be questioning Joshua’s physical resilience going into that all-British clash of former world heavyweight champions, he had a different takeaway.
Anthony Joshua celebrates his stoppage win over Kristian Prenga (AP)
Referencing the fact that he laughed upon scoring the win, Joshua told Independent columnist Steve Bunce on the 5 Live Boxing Podcast : “Did I look relieved? I was laughing.
“Let me give him respect, let me give him respect. I was laughing because I enjoy it, but I was like, ‘God damn! Don’t lose this Tyson Fury fight,’ and we’re here. We’re here.
“I’m calm in the ring, I’m relaxed in the ring, but I definitely feel – from this – I’m unstoppable now, because I’ve seen it all, I’ve done it all, I’ve been through so much.
“I’m strong, man. He’s a strong guy, you know? He’s got potential, he’s got a lot of potential. But I feel good after that. I want it to be perfect every time I get in the ring, but if it’s not, at least I can show a bit of character. And I enjoyed it.”
When asked if he was worried during the first round, Joshua countered: “I just knew that I wouldn’t be denied. I’ve got a big fight pending, so I knew that I wouldn’t be denied.
“There’s a lot of people that want to see me fight Tyson Fury, in Great Britain and across the world.”
Joshua, 36, then referenced the fact that this was his first fight since December, when he survived a fatal car crash that killed two of his teammates : Sina Ghami and Latif “Latz” Ayodele.
“This is my first fight without having my brothers here as well, so my heart was still with them,” Joshua said. “There was a lot of people supporting me, that helped me get up.
Joshua was dropped twice in the first round against Prenga (Getty)
“As I said, fighting is more than physical; it’s a spiritual thing. If you’ve got people with you, and your spirit’s in the right place, you can walk through fire, man. And also, I want to give a shoutout to my team as well.”
Joshua was fighting one day after Fury, 37, stopped a 46-year-old Mariusz Wach in seven rounds in Thailand. In a fight that was not broadcast anywhere, Wach could not make it off his stool to begin the eighth round.
It was Fury’s second fight in four months, after he outpointed Arslanbek Makhmudov in Tottenham in April. The win over Makhmudov marked Fury’s fifth time coming out of retirement, after he suffered two points losses to Oleksandr Usyk in 2024.
Usyk, who also outpointed Joshua in 2021 and 2022, has been training “AJ” in recent months, and he was seen looking relieved at ringside in Jeddah, as Joshua overcame Prenga.
Joshua’s previous outing, 10 days before he was a passenger in that car crash in Nigeria, was a sixth-round stoppage of YouTuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul.
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