Tony Bellew gives honest verdict on Anthony Joshua's punch resistance

Tony Bellew has shared his view about Anthony Joshua’s ability to absorb punches after the Briton knocked out Kristian Prenga after being knocked down twice in the first round.

Former two-time unified heavyweight champion Joshua's clash with Tyson Fury looked in doubt after he was floored by the 35-year-old boxer inside 20 seconds of the fight, only to rebound by knocking out the Albanian in the second round.

Fighting for the first time since two of his best friends died in a car crash in Nigeria in December, in which he was injured, the 36-year-old Joshua was floored by a thunderous right uppercut within the opening 30 seconds, and he took another count late in the first round.

Anthony Joshua entered the ring in the second round with a lot of firepower, including roundhouse right hands which hit Prenga in the ropes and the Albanian was unable to get up from, before the referee stopped the fight.

Joshua has lost four fights in his career. On two occasions he was defeated on points by Oleksandr Usyk when he was relieved of his world titles in 2021 and 2022, and two came by knockout against Andy Ruiz Jr in 2019, then Daniel Dubois also did the same with him in 2024.

However, in both cases he got up multiple times and was stopped on his feet by the referee, who deemed him unable to continue.

Speaking to The Stomping Ground, Bellew was asked to share his opinion on Joshua’s chin and he said that AJ got a rock-solid chin.

“No, do you understand that he’s got a rock solid [chin]. It’s not that. How can you question someone’s chin when he’s never been starched, and he’s never been flatlined. He always gets up. Even against Daniel Dubois, he always gets up. The fact that he gets up shows there is nothing wrong with his chin. Fitness is what gets you up off the floor. Anybody can go down,” Bellew said.

Anthony Joshua will now prepare for a fight against his British rival Tyson Fury, a bout which both were planning for 10 years.