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Anthony Joshua wasted no time turning his attention to Tyson Fury after surviving a shaky start to stop Kristian Prenga in the second round in Jeddah on Saturday night.
Dropped twice in the opening round, Joshua rallied to end the fight in the second, then used his post-fight interview to send a message to his fellow Briton. Asked if Fury was watching ringside, Joshua broke into an impression of Mike Tyson’s infamous post-fight speech from his 2000 stoppage of Lou Savarese, growling that he was going to rip Fury’s heart out and declaring himself the meanest and most vicious world champion there’s ever been, adding that no one could stop him.
Turning serious, Joshua said a fighter needs both aggression and respect, and that while he holds everything Fury has achieved in high regard, he has been pushing for this matchup for a long time and the moment has finally arrived. He thanked Turki Alalshikh and promoter Eddie Hearn for making the opportunity possible, adding that he hopes fans are in for a treat.
The win capped an emotional night for Joshua, who dedicated the performance to two friends and team members, Latif Ayodele and Sina Ghami, killed in a car accident with him in Nigeria last December. He said the display came from something deeper than physical strength, and that it still hurt to talk about.
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An emotional Joshua told DAZN in the ring afterwards: “It’s what champions do. We rise, we get knocked down and we stand up and we keep going, that’s life’s motto.
“It’s more than punch power, that was spirit, that was Latz, that was Sina, that was the families. It hurts even talking about it. It’s been tough.”
No date or venue has been confirmed for the Fury fight, though Wembley Stadium in November is widely tipped as the destination. Hearn has confirmed contracts for the bout are signed.
