Simon Jordan airs Anthony Joshua conspiracy theory after boxer knocked out rival despite hitting the canvas TWICE to set up money-spinning Tyson Fury fight: ‘Something not quite right’

Simon Jordan has questioned the nature of Anthony Joshua’s victory over Kristian Prenga as he rebounded from two knockouts to set up a lucrative showdown with Tyson Fury.

Returning to the ring after seven months of inactivity, Joshua appeared on the verge of defeat in the opening round against Prenga.

The Albanian heavyweight knocked out Joshua with an uppercut just 20 seconds into the bout.

Joshua escaped another knockout later in the round and fans feared the long-awaited showdown with Fury was at risk.

The second round was dramatically different as Joshua landed a series of heavy blows to force Prenga to the ropes and then delivered the knockout blow.

Joshua’s stunning comeback, combined with Fury’s victory over Mariusz Wach just 24 hours earlier, has paved the way for the two British heavyweights to finally meet in one of the most lucrative fights in boxing.

Joshua responded by knocking out the Albanian in the second round

Simon Jordan questions the nature of Joshua’s victory given the difference between the two rounds

talkSPORT host Simon Jordan controversially questioned the dramatic difference in rounds between Joshua and Prenga.

Jordan declared “something isn’t quite right” while referring to the sums being offered for Joshua’s fight with Fury.

“This…not having the #anthonyjoshua fight,” Jordan shared.

‘He drops it twice and sets the tempo, how’s that? … completely different in Pringa 2.

‘Something isn’t quite right, it’s all designed to launder the maximum amount of money…’

The fight’s punch statistics revealed the striking difference between the two rounds; While Joshua landed just five of 22 punch attempts in the first round, Prenga connected with 15 of 32 punches.

The second round was rocky with Joshua landing 13 of 46 punches, while Prenga fell dramatically, landing three of 17 attempts.

Despite Jordan’s comments on social media, Joshua insisted “champions will rise” in a post-match interview after passing the test.

Prenga stunned Joshua in the opening round, landing 13 of his 32 punch attempts.

Joshua was the aggressor, landing just three of 17 punches in the second round

Prenga was felled by a brutal blow from Joshua, who later declared ‘champions rise’ when asked about the dramatic comeback.

‘HE [Prenga] “He gave me a good test but that’s what champions do, we move up,” Joshua said.

‘We fell and we got up. This is life, this is the motto of life.

‘I would like to thank Prenga and his team for putting up a good fight. It means a lot to them, it means a lot to me, and that’s why you see what you see in the ring.

‘I want to thank God. That situation was more than just me, I can’t be the only one in these types of situations. There is a higher power calling.

‘He’s a strong man and I think Eddie [Hearn] Now he wants to sign him! He will do good things and has a bright future.

‘Maybe with a little more experience, [Prenga] will be there with the rest of us. He is strong and durable.’

Looking forward to facing Fury with the contracts already signed, Joshua said in the ring: ‘Is there Tyson Fury in the room? Is he here or not?

‘I am the cruelest, most brutal champion. Nobody can stop me. He is not an Oleksandr [Usyk].

‘Jokes aside, there are two sides. One is warrior, the other is respect. I respect everything he has done and achieved, but as a fighting people, we are here now.

‘Hopefully fans are in for a treat.’

Joshua paid tribute to two close friends who died in a car crash in December.

Joshua will finally face Tyson Fury in a money-making contest with his rival having beaten Mariussz Wach the day before

Joshua paid tribute to his close friends Sina Ghami and Latif ‘Latz’ Ayodele, who died in a car crash in December

Sina Ghami and Latif ‘Latz’ Ayodele died in December when the car they were traveling in crashed into a truck on a road near Lagos. The couple went on vacation after Joshua hit Jake Paul is in Miami.

The heavyweight boxer who was in the vehicle was taken to hospital, then discharged and flown to England; Here he attended the funerals of strength and conditioning coach Ghami and one of his coaches, Ayodele.

Joshua, who fought in honor of Ghami and Ayodele, paid tribute to his friends by having their names written on military camouflage shorts.

He also walked to the ring wearing a military-style jacket that matched his camouflage shorts. The jacket featured pennants bearing the names of Ghami and Ayodele, as well as a medal bar showing the IBF, IBO, WBA and WBO titles he previously held.

Meanwhile, ‘Latz x Sina My Brother’s Keeper MBK’ was printed on the canvas in the corner.

When asked how he coped after beating Prenga, Joshua said: “It was tough,” before becoming emotional. ‘These are my brothers. ‘I don’t want to talk about it.’

Speaking on DAZN, Matchroom Boxing chief Eddie Hearn admitted he feared the heavyweight would return to the ring too soon after witnessing their fight in the opening round.

‘No one can imagine what he has been through in the last seven months. I thought we would come back very quickly in the first round,” Hearn said.

‘Boxing got him through. Just being in the ring tonight is amazing. You don’t know what he’s going through. To get back up, he had to dig deep once again, as he had for the last seven months.’

In February, he commemorated Joshua, Ghami and Ayodele by getting their names tattooed on his arm.