Anthony Joshua Reveals What Changed After Kristian Prenga Knockdowns

The former heavyweight champion says a first-round crisis forced him to abandon his original game plan and hunt the stoppage sooner.

Anthony Joshua says two first-round knockdowns against Kristian Prenga forced him to change his approach on the fly instead of following his original game plan. The former heavyweight champion tightened his defense, trusted his power, and stopped Prenga in the second round.

“It’s not what you expect, honestly,” Joshua said to iFL TV. “One thing I’ve learned is these guys are starting fast. They’re not coming to box 12 rounds and see if they can outbox me. They’re coming to try and take my head off.

“In the second round I said to myself, ‘I can do the same. What am I waiting 12 rounds to break them down for?’ I’ve got some power in my hands, so I might as well land some leather as well. I learned a lot in that moment.”

Joshua said he expected to build behind his jab before breaking Prenga down, but the first-round knockdown changed everything.

“When I got knocked down, I said, ‘Okay, cool. Break him down. Stay in the fight. Stay switched on.’ I didn’t expect that to happen in round one, but it did. So I thought, ‘Stay in the fight. Break him down. It might take me four or five rounds, but my time will come.’ That’s all I thought. My time will come. It just happened in round two.”

Joshua felt the experience reinforced the need to stay alert from the opening bell against every opponent.

“I learned a lot. I can do that, and I’m on it now,” Joshua said. “I thought I was going to do it in six, seven, or eight rounds. I just had to tighten up my defense a little bit, but I got him out of there in two.”

The opening round knockdowns raised immediate questions about Joshua’s ability to take a solid punch. Prenga landed without throwing much volume, yet the blow sent the former champion down. Expecting Joshua to clean up his defense to the point of pitched shutout perfection is unrealistic. Every heavyweight gets tagged eventually. The issue lies in how his body reacts when punches land.