Simon Jordan circles back on Anthony Joshua KO theory as opponent’s corner advice blamed

Simon Jordan is no longer as certain of his theory after watching Anthony Joshua’s KO of Kristian Prenga back.

Joshua was dropped twice in the opening round of his comeback fight with limited Albanian Prenga in Saudi Arabia, and was on the verge of an upset defeat.

Getty

But he recovered to score an emphatic second round demolition, which rubbed talkSPORT pundit Jordan up the wrong way.

Jordan suggested on a social media post that the outcome was fishy and was perhaps related to the looming mega-fight between Joshua and Tyson Fury.

The theory was quickly dismissed by Matchroom CEO Frank Smith among others from both camps.

Prenga’s manager Keith Sullivan even suggested to talkSPORT that illness to Prenga pre-fight was behind the outcome.

And on the latest episode of talkBOXING, Jordan has suggested the more he looks at the fight the more he examines Prenga’s corner.

He said: “It just didn’t make sense to me and my first reaction was I don’t like the look of this or the smell of this.

“But the more I listen to the corner work with Prenga, and what they were saying in the second round ‘take it easy, have a look at him first before you jump on him’.

“And it takes me down the pathway that maybe, maybe I was previously suggesting there was something amiss about this fight.”

Of course, Prenga had Joshua there for taking, but failed to capitalise, which many also had placed down to inexperience and early fatigue.

Spencer Oliver slams Prenga corner work

But footage also emerged of an already exhausted looking Prenga being urged to take his time and slow down the tempo.

Joshua had time to recover and brought his legs back underneath him, with Prenga missing out on his chance to get the job done.

And talkSPORT’s Spencer Oliver has placed blame on the corner’s advice for the lack of killer instinct.

He continued: “It was terrible corner work, you don’t just take a look at him.

“You’d do your homework and know he’s still unsteady in round two, but Joshua capitalised.

“I blame the Prenga corner terribly because it made it look so weird, it was odd.

“This is why people were saying ‘woah it’s fixed’ but Joshua is a concussive puncher and it was a world class finish.

Watch Boxing on DAZN

*If you click a link in this boxout, we will earn affiliate revenue

Sign up to DAZN to access the definitive subscription for boxing fans.

Upgrade to DAZN Ultimate from just £24.99/month, guaranteeing access to 185+ fights annually, a minimum of 12 pay-per-views at no extra cost, as well as every Lega Serie A match and other elite football access.

Alternatively, DAZN Standard is just £15.99/month, with the caveat you will have to pay for pay-per-view events.

Click here to sign up.

Paul Smith added: “That was his world championship fight, that was his lottery ticket.

“He should have jumped on him, but he’s listened to bad advice and it’s come back to fight him.”

For Prenga it was a missed opportunity, and the chance to recreate Andy Ruiz Jr’s famous night against Joshua in 2019 passed.

Joshua will now move on to the lucrative bout with Fury, which is expected to land in the final quarter of 2026.

But for the Albanian, he will likely still earn opportunities, with Dave Allen already expressing interest in fighting him on British shores.