Anthony Joshua climbed off the canvas twice in a nightmare opening round before spectacularly knocking out Kristian Prenga in the second round of a heavyweight thriller in Jeddah.

For three astonishing minutes, a major upset appeared to be unfolding.

Albanian knockout specialist Prenga rocked Joshua inside the opening 20 seconds and floored the former two-time world heavyweight champion twice as his heavy right hand repeatedly found its target.

But Joshua survived — and then turned the fight completely on its head.

Prenga surprisingly failed to press his advantage at the start of the second round, allowing Joshua to seize the initiative.

AJ marched forward, landed a thumping one-two and followed with a barrage of heavy punches that sent Prenga crashing in the corner.

This time, there was no recovery. Prenga failed to beat the count.

The dramatic victory marked Joshua’s first fight since the fatal car crash in Nigeria last December that claimed the lives of his close friends and team members Sina Ghami and Latif “Latz” Ayodele.

More significantly for the heavyweight division, Joshua’s victory keeps alive the prospect of the long-awaited all-British blockbuster against Tyson Fury later this year.

Fury had earlier recorded his own comeback victory, stopping Polish veteran Mariusz Wach in Thailand.

With both British heavyweights now back in the win column, a potential November showdown is firmly on the horizon.

Joshua was twice on the floor in the first round. Prenga was finished in the second. What a turnaround!

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Daniel Dubois came back from two knockdowns to deal Fabio Wardley a brutal and ​bloody first defeat as a professional and take the WBO heavyweight title in a ‌thunderous all-British clash on Saturday.

Referee Howard Foster finally stepped in at the start of the 11th round to signal the end of the fight, with Wardley bleeding heavily from the bridge of the nose and with his right eye almost ​closed.

Dubois rose twice from the canvas, including being dropped by a right hook in the ​first 10 seconds of the fight, to pulverise Wardley and become a world heavyweight ⁠champion for the second time in his career.

“It was a war. We came through the sticky moments. ​Thank you, Fabio, for that,” said Dubois, who was previously IBF champion after the belt was vacated ​by Oleksandr Usyk in 2024, with the Ukrainian winning it back in July 2025.

“What a great fight. What a great battle, man”.

The win was Dubois’s 23rd as a professional in 26 fights, while Wardley now has a 20-1-1 record.

Veteran promoter ​Frank Warren, who manages both men, said it was the best heavyweight fight he had ever put ​on and confirmed there was a rematch clause in the contract.

For some viewers, however, it was also an uncomfortable ‌watch that ⁠could have been stopped earlier.

The 31-year-old Wardley, who was promoted to WBO champion last November after Usyk vacated the title, was making his first defence and showed immense heart as he took a tremendous beating yet refused to capitulate.

He had his opponent on the floor, a blow Dubois, 28, later dismissed as a ‘flash ​knockdown’, almost with the ​opening bell still sounding.

Dubois ⁠was back on one knee in round three but came close to a stoppage in the sixth with the reigning champion bleeding heavily and on the ​ropes.

The Londoner continued to land blow after blow on Wardley, who wobbled but ​refused to ⁠give up.

His corner inspected the facial wounds after the eighth, and doctors and the referee took a look in rounds nine and 10, but still the fight continued, with Wardley increasingly struggling to stay on his feet ⁠and ​fighting on instinct.

“You witnessed something special tonight,” Warren told the BBC. “Two men baring ​their hearts and souls in the ring gave everything, didn’t leave one bit outside the ring.

“They were getting hit with bombs ​that would take people out, and they stood it.”

-Reuters

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World heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk has backed Anthony Joshua to defeat Tyson Fury in their long‑anticipated clash ​later this year and has been helping him ‌with his game plan.

Usyk, who holds the IBF, WBA and WBC belts, has been working with former opponent Joshua in recent months ​and said he has been impressed by the ​Briton’s development.

He added that 36-year-old Joshua deserves to ⁠beat compatriot and fellow ex-champion Fury, 37, after ​changing his approach.

“Fury is an unbelievable fighter, and Fury is ​a very dangerous guy, but I look at how Anthony works and how he has changed,” Usyk told the BBC.

“I like Fury, ​he is my greedy belly’s best friend, he’s an ​amazing fighter, but I want Anthony to win – he deserves it.”

Joshua, ‌a ⁠former two‑time world heavyweight champion, is scheduled to return to the ring against Kristian Prenga in Riyadh on July 25. The bout will be his first since ​a car accident ​last December ⁠in which two close friends were killed.

Usyk said his recent work with Joshua has ​focused on technical and mental preparation.

“We speak ​about ⁠strategy, boxing skills and psychology. We speak about fights, our fights, and I say ‘champ, come on, don’t stop’,” he ⁠said.

The ​Ukrainian is set to defend his ​world titles against Dutch kickboxer Rico Verhoeven on May 23 in Egypt.

-Reuters

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