Kristian Prenga nearly scored the upset of a lifetime.
The 35-year-old Albanian-American underdog put former world champion Anthony Joshua down twice in the first round, but Joshua roared back to knock Prenga out at 2:43 of Round 2.
Joshua (30-4, 27 KO) is now clear to pursue his long-awaited — and, really, clearly overdue — fight against Tyson Fury, who had his own tune-up on Friday in Thailand, stopping 46-year-old Mariusz Wach.
There are clearer and louder questions than ever about Joshua’s viability as a top-level fighter. He looked every day of his 36 years in this fight, and like a fighter whose glory days are pretty well behind him. Prenga, who was nowhere near considered a real contender, was the first actual professional boxer Joshua had beaten since 2023.
But the fight with Fury looks pretty much set, even if there still isn’t a date or location announced.
“You’ve got to have that fire, but also there’s respect. I respect everything he’s done and everything he’s achieved, but as a fighting person and someone who has been calling for this fight a long time, we’re here now,” Joshua said.
Joshua called Prenga a “strong fighter” and said he has a “bright future” and gave him “a good test.”
“That’s what champions do,” he said. “We rise, man! We get knocked down, we stand up, and we get going. That’s life.”
The 37-year-old Fury (36-2-1, 25 KO) did not appear in the ring after the fight. He had repeatedly said he would not make the flight from Thailand to Saudi Arabia for the fight, but enough people kept the question open that the intrigue was there. Fury, though, didn’t say it just to build anticipation; he really wasn’t there.
