Anthony Joshua: How Much He Earned After Knocking Out Kristian Prenga in 2nd Round
- Anthony Joshua returned to professional boxing for the first time in 2026 at the Jeddah Superdome in Saudi Arabia on July 26
- Joshua suffered two knockdowns in the first round, including one from an uppercut within the first 20 seconds of the fight
- The bout carried a modest £5 million prize pool, with Joshua's share reported at around £4 million (₦8 billion)
Anthony Joshua ended a seven-month absence from professional boxing with a second-round knockout victory over Albanian fighter Kristian Prenga at the Jeddah Superdome in Saudi Arabia in the early hours of Sunday, July 26, 2026.
The fight had a shaky start for the British heavyweight. Joshua was floored twice in the opening round, including once from an uppercut delivered within the first 20 seconds of the bout.
Source: Getty Images
The two-time heavyweight champion regrouped between rounds and came back in the second to stop Prenga with a big right-hand knockout.
Joshua’s prize money against Prenga
The fight did not carry the financial weight of Joshua's biggest bouts. According to Sportster, the total prize pool stood at £5 million (roughly ₦10 billion).
Joshua walked away with an estimated £4 million (₦8 billion), while Prenga collected the remainder, a significant sum for the Albanian fighter.
Joshua’s emotional return to boxing
The win was loaded with meaning beyond the scorecards. It was Joshua's first professional outing since his Netflix exhibition bout against YouTuber Jake Paul in the United States on December 19, 2025.
In the weeks that followed that fight, Joshua lost two close friends, Sina Ghami and Latif Ayodele, in a fatal car accident in Nigeria in December 2025.
Speaking after the fight, Joshua struggled to hold back his emotions as he dedicated the win to those he lost.
“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," he said via BBC Sport. "It's my brothers. I don't want to talk about it.”
Joshua’s prize money against Paul
Legit.ng previously reported how much Joshua earned after knocking out YouTuber Jake Paul in a Netflix exhibition fight in December 2025.
The British-Nigerian boxer earned the biggest paycheck of his career in the fight. He earned around $92 million, most of which was taken by taxes.
Source: Legit.ng
