Anthony Joshua dedicated his second-round knockout victory over Kristian Prenga in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, to friends Sina Ghami and Latif ‘Latz’ Ayodele, who died in a car crash in Nigeria in December. The 36-year-old British heavyweight was fighting for the first time since the accident.
Joshua rose from the canvas twice before stopping Prenga, staying on course for a potential showdown with Tyson Fury. In an emotional ringside interview, he said: “It’s what champions do. We rise, we get knocked down and we stand up and we keep going, that’s life, that’s life’s motto.”
“It’s more than punch power, that was spirit, that was Latz, that was Sina, that was the families. It hurts even talking about it. It’s been tough. It’s my brothers but I don’t want to talk about it,” he added, visibly upset.
Ghami, a strength and conditioning coach, and Ayodele, a personal trainer, were killed in the road crash in late 2023. Saturday’s fight was Joshua’s first bout since the tragedy.
