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Anthony Joshua fought back the tears after paying tribute to close friends Latif “Latz” Ayodele and Sina Ghami just moments after knocking out Kristian Prenga.

The former two-time heavyweight world champion was back in the ring on Saturday night - just months after he was involved in a tragic crash in Nigeria which resulted in the deaths of Ayodele and Ghami. Joshua's late friends were also apart of his closely-knit training team.

Joshua, 36, escaped death when the car he and three others were travelling in crashed into a truck on a Nigerian motorway back in December. But the brave Brit made an inspirational recovery and was soon back in action as he looked to make his all-British showdown with Tyson Fury official. The 'Gypsy King' got the job done on Friday night after forcing Mariusz Wach to quit on his stool behind closed doors in Thailand.

But 'AJ' nearly saw his fight with Fury slip away from him after he was dropped in the opening seconds by Prenga. The Watford native survived, but was dropped again before eventually making it to the second round. The 36-year-old would go on to knock the Albanian out towards the end of the second stanza following a brutal left hand.

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Speaking after the win, Joshua said: “I am a serious fighter and I know what to do around the ring. He [Prenga] gave me a good test but we got up and that’s what champions do. That was more than power – that was Sina and Latz and family. I can’t even talk about it. It’s been tough…”

The British brawler was visibly emotional and had to compose himself before switching back to his performance. “They were my brothers – I don’t want to talk about it," he continued. “I learned I cannot be stopped or denied. I am coming, trust me.”

While a lot of the talk post-fight was about Fury, Joshua's promoter Eddie Hearn was quick to praise his star client's strength after everything he has been through these past few months. "We have signed the contracts. Everything is done," the Matchroom supremo said.

"To be honest with you, tonight is all about the strength AJ has showed to even be here tonight - and the strength in that fight. No one can imagine what he has been through and during that first fight I was thinking, 'we have come back too soon'.

"He needed boxing to help him come through this. It allowed him to focus his mind while he was going through so much grief and pain. He is a strong man and likes to deal with his problems on his own - I am not saying that is the right way but it is his way. When your career could be over, you have to go the depths one more time, like he has always done."