Heavyweight boxer Anthony Joshua returned to the ring for the first time in seven months to beat Albanian Kristian Prenga by second-round knockout in Jeddah.
Joshua won despite being knocked down twice himself in the first round. He fought in honour of his close friends Sina Ghami and Latif 'Latz' Ayodele, who died in December when the car they were travelling in struck a truck on a road near Lagos.
Ghami was Joshua's strength and conditioning coach, while Ayodele was one of his trainers. The pair were on holiday with Joshua after he beat Jake Paul in Miami.
Joshua was also in the vehicle during the collision. He was taken to hospital before being discharged and flying home to the UK, where he attended the funerals of Ghami and Ayodele. In February, Joshua memorialised his friends by having their names tattooed on his arm.
Tributes in the ring
For his return fight, Joshua paid tribute to his friends by having their names printed on his military camouflage trunks. He walked to the ring wearing a military-style jacket to match his camo shorts. The jacket featured a medal bar displaying the IBF, IBO, WBA, and WBO titles he previously held alongside pennants bearing Ghami and Ayodele's names.
Joshua wore the jacket featuring the medal bar with 'Sina' and 'Latz' pennants as he entered. Meanwhile, 'Latz x Sina, My Brother's Keeper, MBK' was printed on the canvas in his corner to honour his friends.
Asked after beating Prenga how he has been coping, Joshua said: "It's been tough," before becoming emotional. "That's my brothers. I don't want to talk about that."
Matchroom Boxing chief Eddie Hearn, speaking on DAZN, praised Joshua's resilience. Hearn said: "Nobody can imagine what he's been through in that last seven months. In that first round, I thought we'd come back too soon."
Hearn added: "Boxing got him through. To even be in the ring tonight is astonishing. You don't know what he's been through. He had to go to the depths one more time to get up, like he has done the last seven months."
Ringside support and future fight
Oleksandr Usyk was ringside for the clash in Jeddah to support Joshua, whom he beat twice in world title fights. Usyk has been working closely with Joshua, supporting his training camp.
Victory for Joshua means he is on track to finally fight Tyson Fury in a long-awaited British heavyweight showdown.
