Anthony Joshua remains on course for a showdown with British heavyweight rival Tyson Fury later this year after recovering from being knocked down inside 20 seconds to secure a second-round knockout of Kristian Prenga in a wild clash in Jeddah.
Joshua endured a dismal first three minutes with the Albanian knockout specialist eyeing a seismic shock, only for Prenga to then be demolished shortly after in AJ's first outing since he was a passenger in a car crash in Nigeria last December that killed close friends and team members Sina Ghami and Latif 'Latz' Ayodele.
Fury had completed his own stoppage win on Friday, over Polish veteran Mariusz Wach in a non-televised bout fought in front of a small crowd in Thailand, before vowing not to travel to Jeddah for a face-off with Joshua, who he could now box in November.
There was no sign of Fury as Joshua overcame a boxer in Prenga who had recorded each of his 20 victories via knockout and won his previous 16 contests since a first career defeat in February 2017.
Prenga's stats made for strong reading and although there were no huge names on his CV he threatened a stunning result before the Brit registered his 30th win in 34 fights and second in a row, having beaten Jake Paul in Miami late last year weeks before his car crash.
After a largely hiccup-free weekend for Joshua and Fury - the fighters they faced were never likely to cause them too much alarm - a long-awaited all-British scrap looks set to happen in the autumn.
It could possibly be staged at 2am UK time at Wembley Stadium to suit a global audience but Joshua's promoter Eddie Hearn has said America is the preferred venue for fight organiser Turki Alalshikh.
If and when this clash does take place - Fury questioned whether Joshua would have the "guts" to challenge him as he spoke after dismissing Wach - boxing fans will get what they have wanted for years and, at various points, doubted they would ever see.
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