Kristian Prenga came close to knocking out Anthony Joshua and causing a showdown with Tyson Fury to collapse, only to then be stopped himself in round two. Now, the Albanian heavyweight has responded to suspicions that his clash with ‘AJ’ was somehow fixed.

The previously unknown Prenga caught Joshua clean and cold in the opening 20 seconds of their duel in Jeddah, dramatically flooring the two-time unified heavyweight world champion with a sneaky uppercut and then dropping the him for a second time just moments later.

Joshua managed to survive and negate the pressure of Prenga, who looked to be on the verge of a life-changing win. 

Yet, in round two, Prenga’s momentum seemed to disintegrate, as the 35-year-old confusingly boxed on the back foot and allowed Joshua to take the centre of the ring, rather than continuing the attempted onslaught that had proved so successful in the opening round. 

As a result, Joshua regained his confidence and soon made Prenga pay for his tactical blunder, mercilessly quashing any hopes of a fairytale win with a brutal three-punch combination to close the show. 

In response, some fight fans have doubted the legitimacy of Prenga’s mistake and suggested that other forces may have been at play, with TalkSPORT’s Simon Jordan saying on social media that ‘something was not quite right’.

Not having that … #anthonyjoshua fight ..:

Dropped twice and sets the tempo, how’s that ? … Prenga totally different in 2nd

Something not quite right , all designed to rinse maximum amount of money …

— Simon Jordan (@Sjopinion10) July 25, 2026

In response, Kristian Prenga has hit back at the TalkSPORT host, explaining that his decision to slow down in round two was done to preserve his energy, as per SveaCasino.

“Simon Jordan’s fight fix comments are straight stupidity.

“What do I make of Simon Jordan’s comments? Completely false, and irresponsible for anyone to suggest it. AJ and I have integrity, we would never engage in this stupidity.

“I felt I needed to preserve energy and catch my breath, so I thought I would start slow and replenish my energy. Unfortunately, it didn’t happen, and that slower pace allowed AJ to flip control of the fight to him.”

Jordan has since cooled on his comments, saying he has changed his opinion after speaking to some knowledgeable people in the sport.

Joshua is now expected to proceed with a meeting against Fury in November at Madison Square Garden, with an official announcement anticipated imminently. Prenga will have another fight under Eddie Hearn’s Matchroom banner.