
Anthony Joshua clinched a second-round knockout victory over Kristian Prenga on Saturday night, but the manner of the win has sparked conspiracy theories.
Joshua returned to the ring in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, for the first time since he was involved in a fatal car crash in Nigeria, which claimed the lives of his close friends Sina Ghami and Latif Ayodele in December 2025.
AJ extended his record to 29 wins from 33 bouts with a sixth-round knockout win against Jake Paul just over a week before that horrific day in Lagos, and the 36-year-old was determined to come back with a bang.
Following Tyson Fury's dominant victory over Mariusz Wach in a low-key, non-televised bout in Thailand on Friday (July 24), Joshua was hoping to avoid an unlikely slip-up against Prenga.
Advert
But in the early stages of the fight, the two-time heavyweight champion was almost on the receiving end of an upset.
He was sensationally rocked by a huge uppercut from underdog Prenga in the opening round, and then hit the canvas again later in the round.
At that point, he looked on the verge of one of the biggest defeats in heavyweight history, with his long-awaited fight against Fury hanging by a thread.
However, Joshua produced an incredible escape, unleashing a right hand in the second round, with the final shot sending the Albanian to the ground and forcing the referee to halt the contest.
"It's more than punch power. That was spirit, that was Latz, that was Sina, that was the families. It hurts to even talk about it. It has been tough," the Briton said.
He choked up and stepped away from the microphone, before adding: "It's my brothers. I don't want to talk about it."
A dramatic win sets up a thrilling showdown with Fury later this year and the fight everyone has been waiting for, but many weren't buying the legitimacy of the win after he was knocked down twice in the first round.
Simon Jordan thinks Anthony Joshua vs Kristian Prenga fight was rigged
Wild conspiracy theories have since emerged online, including from Simon Jordan, who claimed that the fight was designed to 'rinse maximum amount of money'.
READ NEXT: Tyson Fury vs Anthony Joshua: Everything we know about the biggest fight in British boxing history
"Not having that… #anthonyjoshua fight ..: Dropped twice and sets the tempo, how’s that? … Prenga totally different in 2nd," Jordan wrote on X.
"Something not quite right, all designed to rinse maximum amount of money."
The former Crystal Palace chairman felt Prenga's level dropped in the second round, allowing Joshua to secure the win, with other boxing fans sharing similar theories.
"Why did Kristian slow down his attack in the second round? Sth looks fishy to me," one person claimed.
"Rd 2 with Prenga just didn't sit right," another stated.
"The most rigged fight I’ve ever seen this Anthony Joshua v Prenga whatever," someone else commented.
"Respect to Anthony Joshua, but that fight had to be rigged," a fourth agreed. "Dude completely stopped throwing when he had AJ badly hurt, and just stood there to get knocked tf out.. any boxing experts lmk."
Joshua vs Fury is set to take place in November 2026 after contracts were signed, but the venue and time of the fight still need to be agreed.
Topics: Anthony Joshua, Boxing, Tyson Fury