British Nigerian boxer Anthony Joshua got his career back on track on Saturday night, recovering from two early knockdowns to stop previously unbeaten Albanian Kristian Prenga in the second round in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, and setting the stage for a long-awaited showdown with Tyson Fury later this year.

Joshua’s comeback got off to a disastrous start when Prenga, who had entered the bout with a perfect record of 20 knockout wins from 20 fights, sent him crashing to the canvas within the opening 20 seconds with a thunderous uppercut.

The former two-time world heavyweight champion was floored a second time before the round was out, briefly raising the prospect of one of the biggest upsets in heavyweight boxing.

The 36-year-old, however, showed the heart that has defined much of his career, using his jab to steady himself before unloading a barrage of heavy right hands in the second round that trapped Prenga against the ropes and forced the referee to step in, handing the Albanian the first defeat of his professional career and improving Joshua’s own record to 30 wins from 34 fights, with 27 by knockout.

Speaking about the prospect of finally facing Fury, Joshua struck a defiant tone while acknowledging his rival’s achievements.

“I respect everything he has done and everything that he has achieved, but as a fighting person and as someone who has been calling for this fight for a long time, we are here now. Shout out to His Excellency, shout out to Eddie Hearn for making these opportunities possible, and I hope the fans will be in for a lovely treat,” he said.

“You know what I have learned, I cannot be stopped, I am not going to be stopped, I am not going to be denied.”

The victory marked Joshua’s first appearance since the car crash in Nigeria in December that claimed the lives of two of his closest friends and members of his team, Sina Ghami and Latif “Latz” Ayodele.

A visibly emotional Joshua, who wore camouflage gear bearing the names of his late friends on his chest, dedicated the win to their memory.

“It is 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. They are my brothers, but I do not want to talk about it,” he said in the ring afterwards.

“It is what champions do. We rise, we get knocked down, and we stand up, and we keep going. That is life’s motto.”

Joshua’s win came a day after Fury secured a seventh-round technical knockout over forty-six-year-old Polish veteran Mariusz Wach in an untelevised bout in Thailand, roughly 4,000 miles away, with both former world champions now having come through their respective warm-up assignments.

Promoter Eddie Hearn confirmed that contracts for the domestic showdown had already been signed, although a venue was yet to be finalised, with Wembley Stadium among the options being considered alongside the possibility of hosting the fight in the United States.

“We have signed a contract, everything is done. But to be honest with you, tonight is all about the strength that he showed to even be here tonight, and the strength that he had to show in that fight. When you go down a couple of times in the first round, and you are looking like your career might be over, he had to go to the depths one more time to get up and fight on,” Hearn said.