At the Jeddah Superdome in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, Eddie Hearn’s Matchroom Boxing promoted a card featuring three world title fights, topped by Anthony Joshua’s dramatic second-round knockout victory over Kristian Prenga.
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Former two-time heavyweight champion and 2012 Olympic gold medalist Anthony “AJ” Joshua (30-4, 27 KOs) stopped former NABA champion Kristian Prenga (20-2, 20 KOs) at 2:43 of the second round of their scheduled 12-round main event.
Prenga stunned Joshua in the opening round, dropping him with a short right uppercut that forced referee Luis Pabon to administer an eight-count. Joshua survived the round and came back strongly in the second, landing a series of punches that began with a right hand to the chin before dropping Prenga for the count.
Sheeraz Retains WBO Title
WBO super middleweight champion Hamzah “Muhammad” Sheeraz (24-0-1, 19 KOs) retained his title with a majority decision over Simon Zachenhuber (29-2, 18 KOs).
Sheeraz controlled the early rounds and opened a cut on Zachenhuber’s nose in the third. He continued to outbox the challenger through the sixth round before Zachenhuber rallied to take the seventh and eighth with the busier work rate.
Sheeraz regained control over the championship rounds and closed the fight strongly enough to earn the decision. The judges scored it 114-114, 115-113, and 116-112.
Kelly Defends IBF Belt
IBF super welterweight champion Josh “Pretty Boy” Kelly (19-1-1, 9 KOs) defeated Caoimhin “Black Thunder” Agyarko (18-1, 7 KOs) by unanimous decision over 12 rounds.
Kelly won the early rounds before Agyarko began finding success with his jab. An accidental clash of heads left Kelly cut beneath his left eye in the fifth round. After repeated warnings for punches behind the head, referee Ignatius Missailidis deducted one point from Kelly in the sixth.
The champion suffered additional cuts under his right eye, across the bridge of his nose, and on his forehead. Despite finishing the fight with blood covering much of his face, Kelly held on to win by scores of 114-113 and 115-112 twice.
Undercard Results
Reito Tsutsumi (5-0, 4 KOs) stopped Alvino Herrera (18-1-2, 11 KOs) 28 seconds into the second round. Tsutsumi scored two knockdowns in the opening round before ending the fight with another knockdown in the second.
Jacob Bank (20-0, 11 KOs) earned a shutout eight-round decision over Pawel August (18-1, 10 KOs). Bank controlled the fight with sharp uppercuts and accurate punching, winning every round on all three scorecards, 80-72.
Oleksandr Khyzhniak (2-0, 2 KOs) stopped Lenny Patrach (8-1-1, 5 KOs) in the second round after scoring two knockdowns.
Nishant Dev (7-0, 5 KOs) stopped Cesar Diaz (10-3, 5 KOs) in the opening round after dropping him three times.
Mikie Tallon (15-0, 4 KOs) knocked out Orlando Pino (17-4, 11 KOs) in the first round with a crushing body shot.
Ziyad Zizo Almaayout (8-1-1, 1 KO) won an eight-round decision over Frank Lucian Mango (8-2, 5 KOs). Almaayout scored two knockdowns before surviving one of his own to secure the victory by scores of 78-71 and 77-72 twice.
Mohammed Alakel (9-0, 3 KOs) stopped Lydon Chircop (8-5, 4 KOs) in the fifth round after repeatedly hurting him with body shots.
Sultan Almohammed (5-0, 4 KOs) stopped Efren Besalduch (3-4-1, 1 KO) in the third round following a body-shot knockdown and a finishing left hook.
Omar Hikal (2-0, 1 KO) defeated Brian Castellano (2-2) by unanimous decision over four rounds after scoring a third-round knockdown. All three judges scored the bout 40-35.
Mahmoud Mabrouk (1-0) won a four-round unanimous decision over Bryan Zapata (5-9-1, 4 KOs). The judges scored it 39-37 and 40-36 twice.
The event featured Thomas Treiber as ring announcer, with Michael Buffer handling introductions for the main event.
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