Anthony Joshua’s performance against Kristian Prenga has drawn concern from fight fans ahead of a long-awaited grudge match with Tyson Fury, and one British boxing icon has advised ‘AJ’ to swerve the Fury fight and walk away from the sport with his faculties intact. 

Joshua was expected to run through Prenga with ease and score a statement stoppage win to set up the bout with Fury, but despite a second-round knockout win, the display instead left some fans wincing at the thought of the two-time world champion absorbing more punishment. 

The 36-year-old was twice knocked down in the opening round as Prenga came close to a life-changing upset win, but Joshua, to his credit, rallied in the round that followed and showed he still carries tremendous power and finishing instincts as he slept the Albanian with a prodigious three-punch combination. 

Still, speaking to Seconds Out, three-division world champion Duke McKenzie declared that those who love Joshua should have an honest conversation with him and tell him to prioritise his health and retire from boxing. 

“I know that nobody was calling for him to retire after his previous fight, that is because he wasn’t showing as many signs of deterioration as he clearly did last night [against Prenga].

“What we witnessed last night was shocking, it really was, it was painful to watch. So, unfortunately, it doesn’t matter who goes into Anthony Joshua’s corner, there shouldn’t be a ‘let’s move forward’, there should be a ‘let’s go back into camp and look at what went wrong’.

“It is obvious went wrong, even to the untrained eye. Oleksandr Usyk’s camp can’t do anything for Anthony Joshua, nobody can, the only person that can probably save Anthony Joshua is probably his mother or Eddie Hearn. 

“They have to be compassionate and they have to be brutally honest with him and tell him, ‘you know what, I actually love you and I don’t want anything to happen to you and please, you need to just walk away from boxing now’.”

Despite McKenzie’s concerns, it seems as though an announcement for Fury-Joshua is around the corner and that the event could take place in New York City this November.