Kristian Prenga has dismissed Simon Jordan's suggestion that his fight with Anthony Joshua was fixed as 'completely false and irresponsible'. The Albanian boxer was knocked down twice by Joshua in the first round last weekend before being knocked down and stopped in the second, prompting the talkSPORT pundit to share a conspiracy theory on social media.
Jordan wrote: 'Not having that [in the] Anthony Joshua fight. Dropped twice and sets the tempo, how’s that? Prenga totally different in second [round]. Something not quite right, all designed to rinse maximum amount of money.'
Prenga responds to fix claims
Reacting to the comments, Prenga told SveaCasino: 'What do I make of Simon Jordan’s comments? Completely false, and irresponsible for anyone to suggest it. AJ and I have integrity, we would never engage in this stupidity. I felt I needed to preserve energy and catch my breath, so I thought I would start slow and replenish my energy. Unfortunately, it didn't happen, and that slower pace allowed AJ to flip control of the fight to him.'
Prenga also revealed he was ill during training camp, adding: 'What did I learn? Try not to get sick during training camp because you feel the difference from losing those training days and cardio workouts after the first round.'
Team Usyk director also weighs in
Earlier this week, Sergey Lapin, Director of Team Usyk, also hit back at Jordan's remarks. Joshua teamed up with the Ukrainian's team prior to his bout with YouTuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul in December, and Lapin again played a key role on Saturday night.
In an interview with Action Network, Lapin said: 'What do I think of Simon Jordan’s comments? I suppose they also told Prenga to walk straight into a punch that weighed one and a half tonnes. Everyone is entitled to their own theories. I have a friend who still believes the Earth is flat and that space doesn’t exist. Personally, I’d rather discuss what actually happened inside the ring than someone else’s imagination.'
