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Key events
Kelly defeats Agyarko by unanimous decision!
Josh Kelly wins a narrow 12-round decision to defend his IBF 154lb title – and it turned out to very tough assignment. Kelly boxed slickly early on, got caught several times by a game Caoimhín Agyarko in the middle rounds, then a bloody-nosed champion gritted his teeth and came through the final rounds (despite a one-point deduction in the fifth).
The judges has it 114-113 and 115-112 (twice). Respectful applause from Agyarko, despite the close nature of the decision.
Kelly bleeding from the nose and a cut under the eye, Agyarko firing jabs and hooks at the so-called “Pretty Boy” who’s looking a bit worse for wear. However the defending champion had a big lead after five rounds and he comes back firing sharply in the 10th round. Two to go and you never knows how the judges have.
Kristian Prenga arrives in the arena, chewing some delicious gum. He looks cool enough.
In the ring, Agyarko is coming back into the fight against Kelly in the second half, helped by the defending IBF champ being docked a point for a punch to the back of the head in round six. Kelly’s work rate has dropped a tad and he’s being caught more often as they exchange. We’ve just started the eighth round.
Josh Kelly is boxing smoothly against Ireland’s Caoimhín Agyarko in their IBF light-middleweight title bout. Five rounds of a possible 12 completed and Sunderland’s “Pretty Boy” has won most, if not all, of them – although he has a cut under his left eye. Something for Agyarko to aim at.
Some pre-fight reading to set the scene as Don McRae assesses the planned Fury-Joshua showdown. It was written before Fury’s one-sided victory yesterday, but it all still holds true and is particularly relevant on AJ’s state of mind this weekend.
Joshua’s return is far more meaningful as it marks a significant step in his emotional and psychological recovery since he was injured in the devastating accident in Nigeria that killed his close friends, Sina Ghami and Latif Ayodele, just after Christmas. There had been doubts Joshua would have the appetite to box again, but he believes his desire in the ring remains undiminished as he prepares to fight the obscure Albanian heavyweight Kristian Prenga late on Saturday night in Jeddah.
“It’s on Prenga, but it’s also on Fury, because I want it all,” Joshua said of his focus this week. “I believe I can become undisputed [heavyweight champion of the world]. I’ve still got the ambition and hunger.”
Tonight’s undercard has a strong British interest – Josh Kelly and Hamzah Sheeraz both making the first defences of world titles they won earlier this year.
Sunderland light-middleweight Kelly could have a tricky assignment against unbeaten Caoimhín Agyarko, who is aiming to become Ireland’s first black world champion. Ilford super-middleweight Sheeraz could have a less tricky assignment against Germany’s Simon Zachenhuber, who has a 28-1 record – but that one loss was in a six-rounder in April. And now he’s fighting for a world title. Oh boxing!
Kelly v Agyarko is next up in Jeddah; Sheeraz v Zachenhuber at approx 9.40pm. Updates to come.
Tyson Fury kept up his end of the deal by defeating Mariusz Wach in Thailand on Friday. In case you did not see it – and there’s a strong chance you didn’t, as it wasn’t broadcast live and was filmed for Fury’s reality show on Netflix – here’s the fight report.
“I went through my test tonight,” Fury said (apparently with a straight face after stopping the 46-year-old, 290lb Wach). “Let’s see if he [Joshua] can get through his.” Indeed we will.
Preamble
Anthony Joshua’s first fight of 2026 – a planned tune-up before a showdown with Tyson Fury – comes against exactly the type of opponent you’d expect. Kristian Prenga is a strapping 6ft 5in Albanian with an eye-catching 20-1 (all 20 wins by KO) record that contains a sum total of zero elite opponents.
But hold on, Prenga ultras might ask: when exactly did Britain’s former two-time world champion last see off a real heavyweight threat himself? Joshua’s last three fights are a sixth-round stoppage of YouTuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul, a brutal KO loss to Daniel Dubois and a two-round demolition of mixed-martial artist Francis Ngannou. You have to go back to December 2023 to find the last time AJ defeated a proven heavyweight contender in the shape of Otto Wallin.
Joshua is also returning to the ring after a fatal car crash in Nigeria last December that killed two of his close friends. Although he’s recovered from his injuries, it’s understandable that the 36-year-old’s future in the sport was questioned after such a traumatic experience. No wonder he wants to shake off the ring rust before a long-awaited bout against Fury.
Prenga is a whopping underdog against a fighter with AJ’s credentials. An Olympic gold medallist who’s beaten Joseph Parker, Alexander Povetkin, Wladimir Klitschko – and gone 24 pretty competitive rounds with Oleksandr Usyk – should have no problem polishing off a foe who’s only gone beyond six rounds once. (And that was when Prenga lost an eight-round decision in his fifth pro fight.)
This is heavyweight boxing, so you never 100% know. But it would be a major upset if even the late-career version of AJ were to be seriously troubled by Prenga in Jeddah.
Ring walks are – apparently – at 10.52pm (BST). Lots of updates before then! Feel free to email your thoughts.
