Anthony Joshua survives first-round scare, vows stronger start

Anthony Joshua hit the canvas twice in the first round of his comeback fight against Kristian Prenga before rallying to stop the Albanian in round two, salvaging his long-awaited showdown with Tyson Fury.

Prenga stunned the former two-time champion early in Jeddah on Friday night, landing hard shots that sent Joshua down in the opening three minutes. The Brit regrouped and ended matters in the second frame with a decisive finish, per MMA Mania.

Joshua credits mental reset for quick recovery

Speaking with The Ring after the bout, Joshua credited his yearlong break for keeping him composed under fire. "I was calm," he said. "I'm in for a fight. Normally, things start heating up [round] four, five, six, and then so on. But things are heating up from the first thirty seconds. So I said, 'I'm in for a good night here.'"

Joshua acknowledged the danger Prenga posed in that opening round. "If Prenga had a bit more luck on his side, he could have had me out there," he told the outlet. He vowed to apply the lesson learned: start faster and impose himself from the opening bell rather than settling into the fight over multiple rounds.

The win keeps Joshua on track for a superfight with Fury, who stopped Mariusz Wach in seven rounds the same weekend. Promoters have twice failed to finalize Joshua-Fury on the fine print, but both men now have their tune-ups behind them and a deal is expected to close in the coming weeks.

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• MMA Mania — Anthony Joshua reacts to first round knockdowns in scary tune-up fight: ‘I learned a valuable lesson’