Kristian Prenga has answered the fix allegations head on, and his defence is partly arithmetic. Speaking to boxing journalist Tris Dixon in his first substantial interview since the loss, the Albanian dismissed the idea that he was paid to ease off against Anthony Joshua in Jeddah last month.
“First thing, I’m not for sale,” Prenga said, before making the practical argument: beating Joshua would have earned him considerably more than throwing the fight ever could.
His explanation for what actually happened points at his own corner. Prenga said that once he is in the ring he hears nothing except his trainer’s voice, and that Muhammad Abdul Salaam sent him out for the second round with instructions to jab and “control the breathing” rather than hunt the finish.
He has not discussed the night with his trainer since, telling Dixon he wanted to leave that conversation for later. His read is that the corner was managing his engine for a fight scheduled across 12 rounds.
The suspicion took hold because of how sharply the fight turned. Prenga dropped Joshua twice inside the opening round before backing off in the second, and Joshua stopped him.
TalkSPORT’s Simon Jordan and Paulie Malignaggi both suggested publicly that something looked wrong, and both later said they were mistaken to imply it.
On the finish itself, Prenga gave Joshua credit without hedging, noting it was the first time he had been knocked down anywhere, including in sparring.
The result preserved Joshua’s route to Tyson Fury later this year, which is precisely why the conspiracy found an audience. Everything else about that night has been litigated by pundits rather than by the man who was in there.
