Kristian Prenga has admitted he has never felt power like Anthony Joshua's after being knocked out by the British boxing star. AJ sent Prenga to the canvas in just the second round of that bout in a dramatic comeback victory, having been knocked down twice himself.
Prenga's Warning to Fury
Joshua, 36, set up a fight later this year with Tyson Fury with the heavyweight goliaths to finally meet for a box office clash. The Gypsy King earned a victory over Mariusz Wach in Thailand just 24 hours ahead of Joshua's win as the pair finally got on a collision course.
Prenga almost pulled off a shock victory over Joshua in the opening minutes. The Albanian's most notable win came against Joey Dawejko in 2024, but the 35-year-old had not lost for nine years and earned stoppages against his other 20 opponents.
Joshua was able to rally against his unfancied opponent to send him to the canvas, and Prenga has admitted it was an unfamiliar experience. Asked if the Olympic gold medalist's power was like nothing he'd felt before, Prenga could only reply in the affirmative.
"Of course, it’s power because it’s the first time I got knocked down in my career, in my life," he said. "I’ve never been knocked down in sparring. It’s the first time. I think he has the power."
Lewis Questions Joshua's Future
Prenga's assessment comes after boxing legend Lennox Lewis questioned whether Joshua should be back in action following his performance. The former heavyweight champion has concerns over Joshua's current capabilities.
"Does he really belong in the ring right now?" he told The Ring. "A virtual novice put him on the ground twice in the first round. Is that it, have we seen the last of him? It's not like he's his old self."
Prenga pushed back on the assertion that Joshua is past his best. "It’s not true," he said.
"Joshua is a great fighter. He has experience. He has power and I know he went through a lot in his life – as we all know. But it’s not an easy fight for Tyson Fury. I promise you."
Venue Dispute Threatens Fight
The expected bout between Joshua and Fury is already the subject of plenty of controversy over where it will take place. There appears to have been growing momentum toward a fight night in the United States, but Eddie Hearn has suggested he will pull the plug on the fight if it comes to fruition without a contract change.
"Everybody wants to do the fight in New York, apart from Anthony Joshua and me," he told The Punch Podcast. "We're under a huge amount of pressure, and we're being told by Turki Alshikh and those guys - Netflix particularly - 'Look, we really want to do the fight in the US.'"
"It's almost not a 'please Eddie,' but like, 'We're partners. We're paying a lot of money. Come on, you have to understand that we need to put the fight where we feel is commercially the best place.'"
"By the way, there might even be a situation where they go ahead and announce it anyway, and you'll probably see me come out quite quickly and say, 'No fight.' Because I promise you, if they announce that fight without an agreement in place to change the venue, there will be no fight, and we ain't bluffing," he added.
