'That's my brothers' - Anthony Joshua dedicates KO victory to friends lost in Nigeria crash

British-Nigerian heavyweight boxer Anthony Joshua delivered one of the most emotional moments of his career after dedicating his dramatic knockout victory over Kristian Prenga to two close friends who lost their lives in a car accident in Nigeria.

Joshua overcame a difficult start to secure an impressive second-round knockout victory over Prenga on Saturday night in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

The former unified heavyweight champion endured a nightmare opening round after being floored twice by Prenga.

The Albanian fighter stunned Joshua just 30 seconds into the contest with a powerful right uppercut before sending him to the canvas again later in the round.

Despite the early setbacks, Joshua responded like a champion. He regained his composure in the second round and unleashed a devastating punch that stopped Prenga at the 2:43 mark to seal an impressive comeback victory.

The victory carried special importance for Joshua, who revealed he had been dealing with the heartbreaking loss of two close friends, Sina Ghami and Latif "Latz" Ayodele, who died in a car accident in Nigeria.

Speaking after the fight, the emotional heavyweight struggled to hold back his emotions.

"It's been tough," Joshua said. "That's my brothers. I don't want to talk about that."

Following the victory, Joshua looked around the arena for fellow British heavyweight Tyson Fury.

Fury had previously hinted he could travel from Thailand to attend the fight, but he was absent from the venue.

Joshua briefly entertained the crowd by recreating one of Mike Tyson's most famous quotes.

He added, "I am going to rip his heart out. I am the meanest and most vicious champion there has ever been!"

The crowd responded enthusiastically before Joshua quickly switched to a more respectful tone when discussing a potential showdown with Fury.

Joshua reiterated his desire to finally face Fury in what would be one of the biggest fights in British boxing history.

He added, "All jokes aside, there are two sides to this thing. You have to have that vim as a fighter but also respect.

"I respect everything he has done and achieved, but as someone who has been calling for this fight for some time, it is here now. I hope the fans will be in for a lovely treat."