Joshua comes back twice to knock out Prenga and set up Fury showdown

Anthony Joshua survives 2 sound downs by Albania’s Kristian Prenga earlier winning the combat successful the 2nd round.

Former two-time satellite champion Anthony Joshua recovered from 2 knockdowns to sound retired Kristian Prenga successful the 2nd circular of a melodramatic non-title heavyweight combat successful Saudi Arabia.

The combat successful Jeddah connected Saturday was seen arsenic the British boxer’s last measurement earlier mounting up a long-awaited showdown against his compatriot Tyson Fury.

It besides marked his instrumentality to the ringing for the archetypal clip since a horrific car clang successful Nigeria successful December, during which Joshua mislaid 2 of his champion friends and sustained injuries.

Prenga, right, successful enactment with Joshua [Ibraheem Abu Mustafa/Reuters]

Back wrong the ring, Joshua was floored by an uppercut wrong 30 seconds. He bushed the number but looked earnestly shaken.

Then Prenga knocked Joshua down again, but the erstwhile heavyweight champion roseate earlier the extremity of the number and survived until the doorbell successful the archetypal round.

A speedy extremity to the combat was expected, but cipher thought it would beryllium Prenga’s.

In the 2nd round, Joshua unleashed a flurry of punches and finished Prenga with a close hook, sending the Albanian done the bottommost of the ropes.

The turnaround shocked adjacent heavyweight king Oleksandr Usyk, whose look was caught by TV cameras arsenic helium watched from ringside.

Joshua completed a stunning comeback triumph implicit Prenga [Ibraheem Abu Mustafa/Reuters]

The comeback kept live the anticipation of an all-British combat betwixt Joshua and Fury.

Joshua’s manager Eddie Hearn claims his combatant and Fury person signed a declaration to conscionable for the archetypal clip aboriginal this year, but connected the information that they travel done warm-up bouts this weekend.

“I anticipation the fans volition beryllium successful for a beauteous treat,” Joshua told the assemblage astir warring Fury pursuing his triumph implicit Prenga.

Fury played his part by coming retired of status this twelvemonth and, connected Friday, forcing 46-year-old Polish journeyman Mariusz Wach to discontinue successful circular 7 successful Pattaya, Thailand.

Joshua astir blew his portion of the claimed declaration earlier showcasing his champion’s fightback spirit.

Prenga brought a 20-1 combat grounds with 20 KOs into the match-up with Joshua and looked each spot the knockout artist.

Joshua, warring for the archetypal clip since surviving the car clang that killed his friends Sina Ghami and Latif ‘Latz’ Ayodele, acknowledged them consecutive aft improving his combat grounds to 30-4 (27 KOs).

“It’s much than punch power,” Joshua said of his knockout punch. “That was spirit. That was Latz and Sina. That was the family. You cognize what I mean? That hurts adjacent talking astir it.

“He [Prenga] gave maine a bully test, but this is what champions do: we rise. We get knocked down and basal up. That is life; that is life’s motto.”

Joshua poses for a representation with his the household of his friends, Latz and Sina, who died successful a tragic car mishap [Ibraheem Abu Mustafa/Reuters]