Anthony Joshua Survives Major Scare, Scores KO

Anthony Joshua overcame a shaky start to score a second-round knockout victory over Albanian heavyweight Kristian Prenga on Saturday night (July 25, 2026) at the Jeddah Superdome in Saudi Arabia. The win keeps the former two-time world champion on track for a potential blockbuster clash with Tyson Fury later this year.

Joshua (now 30-4, 27 KOs) looked rusty and vulnerable early, struggling with timing and getting dropped twice in round 1 by the hard-hitting Prenga (20-2, 20 KOs). The Albanian entered with knockout power in all his wins and briefly threatened an upset. However, Joshua regrouped quickly between rounds, came out aggressive in the second, and overwhelmed Prenga with heavy combinations. The referee stopped the contest at 2:43 after Prenga went down and couldn’t recover.

In his first fight since surviving a tragic car crash in Nigeria late last year, Joshua showed resilience and finishing ability once he found his rhythm. The victory sets up what could be one of the biggest fights in British boxing history against Fury, who recently looked strong in his own tune-up bout.

Key Undercard Results

The card delivered strong action from top prospects and title fights:

• Hamzah Sheeraz def. Simon Zachenhuber via majority decision (114-114, 115-113, 116-112) — Sheeraz retained his WBO super middleweight title in a tough, grind-it-out affair that drew some crowd frustration for the lack of fireworks. 

• Josh Kelly def. Caoimhin Agyarko via unanimous decision (114-113, 115-112 x2) — Kelly successfully defended his IBF super welterweight crown. 

• Reito Tsutsumi def. Alvino Herrera via 2nd-round TKO (0:28) — The rising star stayed perfect with another quick finish. 

• Jakob Bank def. Pawel August via unanimous decision (80-72 x3)

• Nishant Dev def. Cesar Diaz via 1st-round TKO (2:56)