Anthony Joshua was flat on his back just 20 seconds into his big comeback, the desert air in Jeddah thick with shock. His long-awaited showdown with Tyson Fury suddenly hung by a thread after Joshua got dropped twice in round one.
The ‘Madness’ in Jeddah
But if you thought AJ was done, you don’t know this dude. One astonishing comeback and a second-round knockout later, that blockbuster Fury bout was back on. Former cruiserweight world champ Tony Bellew didn’t mince words on DAZN: “chaos. Absolute chaos. Just madness.” Joshua’s emotional win over Kristian Prenga marked his 30th pro victory, surviving a truly wild night.
Prenga, with 20 KOs from 20 wins and one defeat, had never fought under this kind of spotlight. You can’t ignore the heart Joshua showed, especially after everything he’s faced, including that tragic car crash taking his friends Sina Ghami and Latif ‘Latz’ Ayodele. Just getting back in the ring was huge. But sentiment aside, 5 Live boxing pundit Steve Bunce hit it dead on: “We need to look at that first round and look at how easily AJ was hurt. We can’t just skip past that.” He’s right, man. What if Prenga had pressed his advantage? We might be talking about a very different story. Bunce wants us to keep asking, “how much further do we want to push him?” after seeing him in such a bad spot.
Fury’s Shadow Play and the Blueprint
This was supposed to be Joshua’s week, but Fury, true to form, reminded everyone he’s the master of stealing headlines. The Gypsy King was set to fight August 1st in Dublin, but moved his own bout against 46-year-old Mariusz Wach to the night *before* Joshua’s. Then came the usual Fury theatre: claiming he wouldn’t be in Jeddah, then hinting he would, even tagging an Instagram post with “Who Knows.” He didn’t show, and maybe that was a blessing for AJ. Would Joshua have found that same determination to turn the fight if Fury was ringside, watching him get dropped twice? We’ll never know.
Questions remain after both their warm-up performances. Fury’s seventh-round victory over Wach got criticism, but it felt more like a public sparring session to keep him active and talking. He was clearly enjoying himself, even kissing his opponent on the head. Maybe we should look closer at his April performance against Arslanbek Makhmudov, where he looked comfortable and controlled, even with “signs of decline.” But here’s the kicker: Fury’s greatest weapon is exposing hesitation, vulnerability, and mistakes. And Joshua? He showed all three against Prenga. It feels like Fury just got a blueprint.
So yeah, both guys got through their tune-ups, but now it feels like a very different contest. Joshua’s vulnerabilities are out there for everyone to see after that “absolute chaos.” The big fight feels like it’s gonna be a whole new level of drama. Let’s see how these guys move next because the stakes just got even higher.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by BBC Sport.
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