Anthony Joshua cleared his last obstacle in the ring ahead of his November clash with Tyson Fury, yet he was surprisingly floored twice during the opening round of his unpredictable encounter with Kristian Prenga. In the early hours of Sunday in Jeddah, a powerful knockout in round two left Prenga collapsed on the canvas, tangled in the ropes, and spared Joshua from potential embarrassment.

Following the first three minutes, his upcoming spectacle with Fury appeared headed for complete collapse, but Joshua emerged from a difficult situation marked by setbacks to preserve his career and the anticipated matchup against his British rival. This proved to be an intense and unpredictable preparation bout for Joshua, marking his return since the car accident last December that claimed the lives of two close friends, Sina Ghami and Latif Ayodele.

“He’s back” appeared on the large screen behind Joshua as he approached the ring at a measured and serious pace. A loud Meek Mill song played around him while images of Ghami and Ayodele flashed briefly on the display. Dressed in camouflage attire, he then turned and offered a quiet greeting to Oleksandr Usyk, who sat nearby as a fresh supporter.

Joshua had prepared rigorously alongside Usyk and his group before traveling to Jeddah. Usyk holds the top spot among heavyweights, and Joshua, after defeats in both prior meetings with the Ukrainian, chose with some modesty to gain insights from his former opponent. Supported by Usyk’s coaching staff and entering at a lighter 251lb than in recent years, Joshua aimed to display greater speed and precision against Prenga.

After a brief moment of reflection in his corner, Joshua moved to the ring center, and within 20 seconds the lesser-known Prenga dropped him solidly with a strong right uppercut. Joshua rose promptly but appeared unsteady. Midway through the round, still wobbly on his feet, Joshua was pinned against the ropes. With 30 seconds remaining in the first, he went down once more. He stood up, shaking his head, as defeat loomed. The round had gone poorly, yet Joshua responded just before the bell.

Fury likely felt frustration as the major financial bout in British boxing history neared cancellation. However, Joshua emerged for the second round with clear intent and soon troubled the oddly cautious Albanian, who retreated even before the heavy blows connected. It seemed Prenga struggled to accept how near he had come to defeating the celebrated former champion.

With 20 seconds left in the round, a sharp jab positioned Joshua to land two powerful right hands. Recognizing a major shift, Joshua delivered a crushing right that struck with severe impact and left Prenga disoriented. It became clear immediately that the count would end the fight.

Joshua reacted with excitement, mounting the ropes and lifting his arms in triumph, yet it was more revealing to observe a relieved Usyk taking a deep breath.

A strangely lopsided win came after Fury’s straightforward victory over Mariusz Wach, a past-his-prime Polish fighter, in Pattaya, Thailand, on Friday night. Fury controlled a one-sided contest until Wach’s corner withdrew him before the eighth round.

Earlier that week Fury stated he would decline any offer to travel from Thailand to Saudi Arabia to view Joshua. He even questioned whether his long-postponed fight with Joshua would occur and labeled his fellow British heavyweight “a bottle-job flapper and a chinless wonder”. Yet the prospect of each earning nearly $100m for a bout delayed eight years, when both were nearer their peaks, makes their meeting probable later this year.

“Hold on, wait a minute,” Joshua called out during his post-fight interview in the ring. “Is Tyson Fury present? Is he here or not?”

Upon learning Fury would not appear, Joshua adopted a high-pitched, whispery imitation of Mike Tyson at his most erratic, joking: “I am the meanest, most ruthless, most vicious champion. Nobody can stop me. He is no Alexander [the Great].” He also mentioned Tyson’s remark about consuming Lennox Lewis’s heart, but it served as playful banter from Joshua as he savored his recovery.

“All jokes aside, there are two sides,” he added. “One is the fighter and the other is respect. I respect everything [Fury] has done and everything that he has achieved, but as a fighting person, we’re here now. I hope the fans will be in for a lovely treat.”

The Fury-Joshua saga has continued for years, leading even dedicated boxing supporters to doubt whether the two former champions would ever meet. Yet as Joshua converted a near-loss into a knockout of Prenga, the situation advanced notably toward an actual contest later this year.