Kristian Prengë's manager, Keith Sullivan, has reacted to the conspiracy theories that circulated after the Albanian boxer's loss to Anthony Joshua, categorically denying any claims of external interference or suspicious dealings.
Prenga surprised the crowd in the first round of the fight in Jeddah, where he managed to knock down Joshua twice. However, the Briton came back strongly and won by technical knockout in the second round. The big change in the Albanian's appearance between the two rounds prompted speculation on social media.
In an interview with talkSPORT, Sullivan dismissed these claims.
"We can explain it very easily in one word: Impossible. There was no external influence," he declared.
The manager also denied rumors that people connected to the event organizers or the "Sela" company had entered Prenga's corner during the fight.
"Turkish Alalshikh was not in Jeddah at all. Even the idea that someone from Sela had come to our corner and talked to us is not true. Just look at the footage, it didn't happen."
Sullivan also revealed an important detail about the Albanian boxer's physical condition before the fight.
According to him, Prenga had suffered from a serious health condition and had not been able to prepare normally.
"Kristian was seriously ill before the match. He didn't spar or train for two weeks before going to Jeddah. He had a temperature of 102 degrees and was in bed for eight days."
He added that, although the boxer underwent medical checks and it was thought that it was a case of a severe flu or extreme fatigue, the lack of training directly affected his performance.
"In the first round he used up all his energy. When the second round started, he told me he felt like he was back in that bed where he had spent eight days, with no energy and struggling to breathe."
In the end, Sullivan stressed that he wasn't trying to make excuses for the loss.
"I'm not making excuses. I think those five and a half minutes were some of the most exciting moments of boxing I've seen in a long time."
