Anthony Joshua hit the canvas twice in the opening round and still won by knockout. The 36-year-old recovered from a torrid first three minutes to stop Albania's Kristian Prenga at 2:43 of the second round in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, on Saturday night.

Prenga, a little-known heavyweight with a reported record of 20 wins — all inside the distance — and a single defeat, came to swing. He swung well enough to put Joshua down twice in round one, sending a jolt through anyone watching live worldwide on DAZN (Matchroom Boxing).

Round two told a different story. Joshua landed a flurry of hard right hands and sent Prenga crashing to the canvas, ending the fight (BBC Sport). The knockout was the 27th of Joshua's professional career, bringing his overall record to 30 wins and 4 losses (DraftKings Network; BBC Sport).

The bout was a non-title heavyweight contest, branded "The Comeback" and originally slated for Riyadh before organisers moved it to Jeddah on 1 June (Reuters; Matchroom Boxing). The event formed part of Jeddah Season in association with Riyadh Season, with HE Turki Alalshikh promoting the card as reinforcing Saudi Arabia's standing as a host for world-leading sporting events (Matchroom Boxing). The undercard featured two world title fights: Hamzah Sheeraz versus Simon Zachenhuber and Josh Kelly against Caomhin Agyarko.

The fight came seven months after a car crash in Nigeria in which Joshua was injured and two of his closest friends died (BBC Sport). That context gave the bout a gravity beyond the usual comeback narrative, and the two first-round knockdowns will have tested the nerves of anyone who tracks Joshua's trajectory.

For Joshua, the night served as a warmup for something far bigger. He and Tyson Fury have signed a contract to fight each other in 2026, with the bout potentially scheduled for November and a venue still to be confirmed (Sky Sports; Reuters). The Fury fight is expected in the fourth quarter of this year, meaning the Prenga result was as much about shaking off ring rust and proving durability as it was about adding another win.

The first round raised questions. The second answered them with the kind of concussive finishing power that has defined Joshua's career. Whether it is enough against Fury — a different calibre of opponent entirely — is a conversation for the coming months.