Anthony Joshua Survives Two Knockdowns to Knock Out Kristian Prenga in Jeddah

Anthony Joshua somehow turned disaster into a second-round knockout in Jeddah, climbing off the canvas twice in the opening round before flattening Kristian Prenga in a wild heavyweight main event.

It was the sort of fight that left Joshua with both a win and a few awkward questions. He got the result, he showed serious recovery powers, and he finished matters brutally. But those first three minutes were chaos.

Elsewhere on the card, Hamzah Sheeraz retained his WBO super-middleweight title by majority decision over Simon Zachenhuber, while Josh Kelly successfully defended the IBF super-welterweight belt against Caoimhin Agyarko.

Main Event

Anthony Joshua improved to 30-4-0 after knocking out Kristian Prenga, now 20-2-0, at 2:43 of round two.

The opening round could hardly have gone worse for Joshua. Prenga dropped him twice and suddenly a fight many expected AJ to control had turned into a proper heavyweight crisis. Joshua looked vulnerable, Prenga had belief, and the entire arena knew an upset was in play.

Then came the response.

Joshua steadied himself between rounds, came back firing and put Prenga down in the second. Once he had his man hurt, he did not let the chance slip. The finish followed at 2:43, ending a frantic fight that packed more drama into two rounds than most manage in twelve.

It was a spectacular recovery and a reminder that Joshua still carries the power to end a fight in seconds. At the same time, being dropped twice by Prenga will not be ignored. He handled business, but not before giving everyone a serious scare.

Co-Main Event

WBO World Super-Middleweight Title

Hamzah Sheeraz moved to 24-0-1 with a majority decision victory over Simon Zachenhuber, who fell to 29-2-0.

Sheeraz retained his title over 12 rounds, but Zachenhuber made him earn it. The judges returned scores of 116-112 and 115-113 for Sheeraz, with the third card level at 114-114.

No runaway win here. Sheeraz got the decision and kept hold of the belt, though this was a much tighter and less convincing defence than many expected.

Other Title Fight

IBF World Super-Welterweight Title

Josh Kelly advanced to 19-1-1 after outpointing Caoimhin Agyarko, now 18-1-0, by unanimous decision over 12 rounds.

Kelly was deducted a point in round six for hitting behind the head, but still came through on scorecards of 114-113, 115-112 and 115-112.

Agyarko pushed him hard and lost his unbeaten record, while Kelly kept hold of the title after a competitive, awkward night.

Undercard

Reito Tsutsumi improved to 5-0-0 by stopping Alvino Herrera Meza, now 18-1-2, at 0:28 of round two. Herrera was down twice in the first and once more in the second.

Jacob Bank moved to 20-0-0 with a shutout unanimous decision over Pawel August, who dropped to 18-1-0. All three judges scored the eight-round contest 80-72.

Oleksandr Khyzhniak stopped Lenny Patrach at 1:56 of round two, taking his record to 2-0-0 while Patrach fell to 8-1-1.

Ziyad Almaayouf improved to 8-1-1 with an eight-round unanimous decision over Frank Lucian Mango, now 8-2-0. The scorecards were 78-71, 77-72 and 77-72.

Mikie Tallon needed just 1:31 of the opening round to knock out Orlando Pino. Tallon is now 15-0-0, with Pino slipping to 17-4-0.

Nishant Dev made a statement by stopping Cesar Diaz at 2:56 of round one. Diaz was dropped three times as Dev advanced to 7-0-0 and Diaz fell to 10-3-0.

Mohammed Alakel moved to 9-0-0 after stopping Lydon Chircop at 2:02 of round five. Chircop went down once in the fourth and twice in the fifth before the finish.

Sultan Almohammed improved to 5-0-0 with a third-round stoppage of Efren Besalduch, now 3-4-1. Besalduch was dropped twice before the bout ended at 2:41.

Omar Hikal outpointed Brian Castellano over four rounds, winning by unanimous decision with three identical scores of 40-35. Hikal moves to 2-0-0, while Castellano falls to 2-2-0.

Mohamed Mabrouk Yehya advanced to 2-0-0 with a four-round unanimous decision over Bryan Zapata, now 5-10-1. The judges scored it 40-36, 39-37 and 40-36.

Final Thoughts

Joshua got the knockout everyone expected, just not in anything like the fashion anyone expected. Two knockdowns, one furious comeback and a second-round finish made sure the heavyweight main event swallowed up everything else on the card.

SEO Title: Anthony Joshua Knocks Out Kristian Prenga After Surviving Two Knockdowns

SEO Excerpt: Anthony Joshua survived two first-round knockdowns before knocking out Kristian Prenga in round two, while Hamzah Sheeraz and Josh Kelly retained their world titles in Jeddah.

Tags: Anthony Joshua, Kristian Prenga, Hamzah Sheeraz, Simon Zachenhuber, Josh Kelly, Caoimhin Agyarko, Reito Tsutsumi, Alvino Herrera Meza, Jacob Bank, Pawel August, Oleksandr Khyzhniak, Lenny Patrach, Ziyad Almaayouf, Frank Lucian Mango, Mikie Tallon, Orlando Pino, Nishant Dev, Cesar Diaz, Mohammed Alakel, Lydon Chircop, Sultan Almohammed, Efren Besalduch, Omar Hikal, Brian Castellano, Mohamed Mabrouk Yehya, Bryan Zapata

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