Anthony Joshua SURVIVES two first round KNOCKDOWNS by Kristian Prenga to rescue £100m Battle of Britain vs Tyson Fury

ANTHONY JOSHUA had to climb off the floor after just TWENTY SECONDS to save the £100million Tyson Fury fight and his career. The 36-year-old was supposed to chin the unknown Albanian Kristian Prenga in Jeddah but he was folded by the first punch of the shocking night and it almost finished him off. Anthony Joshua was almost shocked by Kristian Prenga Credit: Getty He was knocked down twice in the first round before winning in the second Credit: Getty Joshua landed a flurry of right hands to floor Prenga Credit: Getty Images Joshua saved his £100million mega-fight with Tyson Fury Credit: Getty Fury won the night before in Thailand and stood his old rival up in Jeddah. But he will be laughing all the way to the bank now the overdue clash looks set for New York and AJ’s chin looks like a class target for him. Sign up for the Sport newsletter Thank you! ANTHONY JOSHUA VS KRISTIAN PRENGA LIVE COVERAGE After a devastating car crash in December, it was great to see he still has the mental fortitude to climb into the ring and off the deck and win in the second. But nobody knows what is really left of Joshua now. He arrived dressed in green camouflage gear and a mission to win – by any means – and finally secure the belated Fury fight. Joshua jabbed high and low and was then clipped and dropped inside the first 20 seconds. He was tagged with a short uppercut on the inside and folded for an eight count. He got back to his feet but was a stumbling mess, giggling and gurning like a naughty school boy. Most read in Sport SUN VEGAS WELCOME OFFER: GET UP TO £100 BONUS It sets up the much anticipated bout with Tyson Fury Credit: Getty And he fell down again for another count and a shocking 10-7 opening round. After his new Ukrainian team soaked him with water, AJ came out throwing right hands and saved his career with the first one that really landed. He backed 35-year-old Prenga into a corner and rendered him senseless with a brutal right hand. It was a career saving fight and he climbed to the top of the ropes to tell the shaking crowd to calm down and book their tickets for the Fury showdown. With the names of tragic fallen brothers Sina Ghami and Latif Ayodele etched onto the canvas in his red corner – but the Gypsy King a glaring absence – AJ returned to the ring for the first time since December. That was a circus act demolition of YouTube prankster Jake Paul, though, and we had to go back 22 months to Joshua’s last serious shift. And that September 2024 shootout with Daniel Dubois ended in a disaster as the Watford legend was faceplanted into the Wembley canvas, with four knockdowns in five brutal rounds. We had to go back all the way to December 2023 for the last time the London 2012 icon had won a bona fide boxing match – poleaxing Swedish southpaw Otto Wallin in Riyadh. AJ was on the deck after just 20 seconds Credit: Getty Albanian Prenga was then rocked himself and couldn’t get back up Credit: Getty We had waited an age – and there had been an emotional rollercoaster in between – but surely Team Joshua was getting back to serious winning ways in the Jeddah Superdome? Prenga marched to the ring to an Albanian boom, draped in red and black and eagle emblems. AJ’s accompanying video featured a lion with a crown, as the king of the jungle returned to the ring. In a wild 24 hours, the World Cup final of British boxing was secured thanks to semi-final clashes in Pattaya, Thailand and Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. And – in one final kick in the balls for English fight fans already reeling from being robbed by Thomas Tuchel’s expensive tinkering in America – we’re heading back there for this overdue all-British boxing bonanza. Madison Square Garden – not Wembley nor Cardiff – is now the front runner to host the Watford versus Morecambe showdown. But with both national treasures now storing their fortunes in Dubai and the Isle of Man, respectively – and Saudi bankrolling the sport – UK fans who have waited over a decade for this mouthwatering decider look set to be floored as it goes Stateside. American streaming powerhouse Netflix – not Sky Sports or Hammersmith-based DAZN – have the rights to the giant battle. The Brit came out wearing camo with an ode to his tragic fallen friends Credit: Getty A message was left to his great pals who died last year Credit: Getty And they prefer to set the scene around the Empire State Building, Statue of Liberty and Donald Trump, rather than tired old Buck House, Nelson’s Column or unknown Andy Burnham. On the back of AJ’s ridiculously exciting two-round return, Netflix is going to make a fortune. But fans will be worried about his physical and mental strengths after an opponent as unfancied as Prenga smashed him to the floor. Comment now