Albanian boxer Kristian Prenga has reacted to the claims of British analyst Simon Jordan, who cast doubt on the development of the match between him and Anthony Joshua, suggesting that the fight may have been rigged.
Prenga faced the former world heavyweight champion in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, where he came very close to a historic upset. The Albanian dropped Anthony Joshua twice in the first round, but the Briton came back strongly in the second and won by knockout.
After the match, Simon Jordan stated that he did not believe the big change in Prenga's appearance between the two rounds, implying that everything could have been organized for financial interests and to increase the value of a future duel between Joshua and Tyson Fury.
In a statement to SveaCasino, Prenga categorically rejected these claims.
"They are completely untrue and it is irresponsible for anyone to make such claims. AJ and I have integrity and would never engage in such nonsense," the Albanian boxer declared.
Prenga explained that at the beginning of the second round he decided to slow down to recover his energy after the high intensity of the first round, but this strategy did not prove successful.
"I felt I needed to conserve my energy and catch my breath. I thought about taking the second round a little slower to recover, but unfortunately it didn't work. That slower pace gave Joshua the opportunity to take control of the fight," he said.
The Albanian boxer added that one of the main lessons he learned from this challenge was the importance of physical preparation, revealing that he had missed several days of training due to a health problem during the preparation phase.
