Anthony Joshua knocks out Kristian Prenga after huge scare to move closer to blockbuster showdown with Tyson Fury

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 on Saturday night, hitting the canvas twice, firstly from a vicious uppercut, with the Albanian knockout specialist eyeing a seismic shock.

However, Prenga was demolished by right hands soon after in AJ's first outing since he was a passenger in a car crash in December that killed friends Sina Ghami and Latif 'Latz' Ayodele.

An emotional Joshua dedicated his win to his late team members, saying: "It's more than punch power. That was spirit, that was Latz, that was Sina, that was the families. It hurts to even talk about it. It has been tough. It's my brothers. I don't want to talk about it."

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 - one that could have shattered hopes of Joshua facing Fury - before the Brit registered his 30th win in 34 fights and second in a row, having beaten Jake Paul last year weeks before his car crash.

After a hiccup-free weekend for Fury and Joshua coming through early adversity, a long-awaited all-British scrap looks set to happen in the autumn, with contracts already signed.