Albanian boxer Kristian Prenga has denied claims that his knockout defeat to Anthony Joshua in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, was staged or fixed.
The controversy began after some fans and commentators questioned why Prenga’s performance dropped after he knocked Joshua down twice in the opening round. He first sent Joshua to the canvas with a powerful right hand in the first 20 seconds and scored another knockdown later in the same round.
However, Joshua recovered in the second round, took control of the fight, and eventually secured a knockout victory.
Responding to the allegations, Prenga described the claims as false and irresponsible. He said neither he nor Joshua would ever agree to fix a fight, adding that both fighters have built their careers on honesty and professionalism.
Prenga explained that he became ill during his training camp, which affected his fitness and stamina. He said the illness made it difficult to maintain the high pace he started with in the first round.
According to him, he tried to slow the fight down to recover his energy, but that gave Joshua the opportunity to take control.
He added that the experience taught him the importance of staying healthy throughout training because missing important workouts can have a major impact on performance in the ring.
Earlier, Sergey Lapin, a senior member of Team Usyk, also rejected the claims that the fight was fixed, insisting there was no truth to the allegations.
