Anthony Joshua was knocked down twice in the first round — once barely 20 seconds in — before stopping Albania's Kristian Prenga in the second round of their heavyweight contest in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, on Saturday, July 25 BBC Sport.

The fight, streamed live worldwide on DAZN, was Joshua's first since surviving a car crash in Nigeria that killed his close friends Sina Ghami and Latif "Latz" Ayodele BBC Sport. Joshua, 36, walked to the ring with a professional record of 29 wins (26 by knockout) and four losses. Prenga arrived with a frightening-looking résumé: 20 wins, every single one by knockout, and one defeat Matchroom Boxing.

The Albanian nearly lived up to that billing immediately. A right hand sent Joshua to the canvas inside the opening 20 seconds, and a second knockdown followed later in the round. For a fighter returning from personal tragedy and a long layoff, the sight of Britain's two-time unified heavyweight champion — a unified champion holds more than one of the four major world-title belts — on the floor twice inside three minutes was startling.

Joshua gathered himself between rounds. In the second, a final right hand dumped Prenga to the canvas, and the referee halted the contest without a count BBC Sport. The fight was originally scheduled for Riyadh before being moved to Jeddah as part of Jeddah Season in association with Riyadh Season Reuters; Matchroom Boxing.

The undercard featured two notable domestic matchups: Hamzah Sheeraz against Germany's Simon Zachenhuber, and Josh Kelly versus Caomhin Agyarko Matchroom Boxing. HE Turki Alalshikh, the figure behind Saudi Arabia's deep involvement in boxing, said staging the event in Jeddah reinforced the country's position as a destination for the world's leading events Matchroom Boxing.

Less than 24 hours earlier, Tyson Fury won a warm-up fight against Poland's Mariusz Wach in Thailand Reuters. Fury did not attend Joshua's fight in Jeddah BBC Sport.

Contracts for a Joshua–Fury fight have been signed, though the venue and date remain unknown. The bout is expected to take place in November Sky Sports. Oleksandr Usyk, the man who has beaten both Joshua and Fury in the professional ranks, has publicly backed Joshua to win that contest Reuters.

For fans, what makes Saturday night stand out is the recovery. Two early knockdowns could have unravelled a comeback built on grief and months away from the sport. Instead, Joshua steadied himself, found the shot that mattered, and walked out with the kind of win — bruising, imperfect, but decisive — that keeps the Fury train on the tracks.